2022 Sobey Art Award exhibition

Five visual artists shortlisted for Canada’s most prestigious art award present new and thought-provoking contemporary works to the public at the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) starting on October 28, 2022, for the Sobey Art Award exhibition, on view until March 12, 2023. The five artists will be at the NGC this Saturday, October 29, to meet with the visitors in the exhibition space from 3pm to 5pm ET, as part of the Gallery’s Open House. Admission will be free from 10am to 5pm ET.

The 2022 Sobey Art Award exhibition invites audiences to experience a range of artworks, spanning multiple artistic mediums, including photography, sculpture, performance, painting, and video installations. This year’s shortlisted Sobey Art Award finalists are Krystle Silverfox, (West Coast and Yukon), Divya Mehra (Prairies and North), Azza El Siddique (Ontario), Stanley Février (Quebec), and Tyshan Wright (Atlantic).

“These five powerful artistic voices hail from every region in Canada, and their works, practices, and artistic visions show the strength and impact of contemporary art on Canadian society,” said Angela Cassie, Interim Director and CEO, National Gallery of Canada. “We are thrilled to partner with the Sobey Art Foundation on this Award and Exhibition and invite communities into the gallery to view these dynamic works, and help celebrate these phenomenal artists.”

“The Board of the Sobey Art Foundation congratulates these five inspiring artists shortlisted for the 2022 Sobey Art Award,” said Bernard Doucet, Executive Director, The Sobey Art Foundation. “For over 20 years the Sobey Art Foundation has been proud to observe the practices of Canadian visual artists through this award, and we are excited to celebrate their exceptional work at the National Gallery of Canada.”

“The bold artistic visions of the five finalists begin from particularities of time and place to engage in pertinent global conversations,” said Jonathan Shaughnessy, Director of Curatorial Initiatives, National Gallery of Canada, and Chair of the 2022 Sobey Art Award Jury. “Their works intertwine various media, materials and perspectives in distinctive ways to reflect on past realities and imagine possible futures.”

This exhibition is rooted in the lived experience of the shortlisted artists, and the work on display reflects their diverse backgrounds and unique ways of seeing, thinking and being in the world, expanding on what it means to be a “Canadian” artist working on Turtle Island. The multidisciplinary projects encompass a range of creative practices, from performance to activism, installation, sculpture, photography and institutional critique.

The five artists shortlisted for the 2022 Sobey Art Award are
West Coast & Yukon: Krystle Silverfox 
Prairies & North: Divya Mehra 
Ontario: Azza El Siddique 
Quebec: Stanley Février 
Atlantic: Tyshan Wright 

About the Sobey Art Award
Globally recognized as one of the world’s most generous privately funded prizes for contemporary visual artists, the Sobey Art Award is a catalyst that propels the careers of Canadian artists of all ages through financial support, an exhibition highlighting the practices of the five shortlisted artists, as well as national and international recognition.

Presented annually, the Sobey Art Award provides significant financial recognition and the 400,000 CAD prize money is divided among the 25 nominated artists: 100,000 for the winner, 25,000 for the four shortlisted finalists, and 10,000 each for the longlisted artists.

A jury of experienced curators, including an international juror, select 25 artists from the submitted nominations—five from each designated region of Canada—for the longlist. One artist from each region is then selected by the jury for the shortlist.

The winner of the 2022 Sobey Art Award will be announced at a celebration hosted at the National Gallery of Canada on November 16, 2022. The exhibition is presented with the support of the Sobey Art Foundation.

About the National Gallery of Canada
Ankosé—Everything is Connected—Tout est relié
The National Gallery of Canada is dedicated to amplifying voices through art and extending the reach and breadth of its collection, exhibitions program, and public activities to represent all Canadians, while centering Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Ankosé—an Anishinaabemowin word that means Everything is Connected—reflects the Gallery’s mission to create dynamic experiences that open hearts and minds, and allow for new ways of seeing ourselves, one another, and our diverse histories, through the visual arts. The NGC is home to a rich contemporary Indigenous international art collection, as well as important collections of historical and contemporary Canadian and European Art from the 14th to 21st centuries. Founded in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada has played a key role in Canadian culture for more than a century. To find out more about the Gallery’s programming and activities visit gallery.ca and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. #Ankose #EverythingIsConnected #ToutEstRelié.

About the Sobey Art Foundation
The Sobey Art Foundation was established in 1981 with the mandate to carry on the work of entrepreneur and business leader, the late Frank H. Sobey, who was a dedicated collector of investment quality Canadian art. The Sobey Art Foundation continues the work begun by Frank Sobey, preserving representative examples of 19th and 20th century Canadian art. The Sobey Art Award, started by the Foundation, ran in 2002, 2004, 2006 before becoming annual in 2007.

For media only
For more information, images, or to set up an interview, please contact: 
Josée-Britanie Mallet, Senior Officer, Media and Public Relations, National Gallery of Canada: bmallet@gallery.ca
Denise Siele, Senior Manager Communications, National Gallery of Canada: dsiele@gallery.ca