Toronto M5T 1G4
Canada
The 2015 Aimia | AGO Photography Prize has been awarded to American artist Dave Jordano. Selected entirely by public vote, Jordano will receive 50,000 CAD in addition to a six-week, fully funded residency in Canada. Finalists Annette Kelm, Owen Kydd and Hito Steyerl will each receive a six-week residency in 2016 and 5,000 CAD to support their artistic practices.
Born in Detroit in 1948, Jordano currently lives and works in Chicago. He received a BFA in photography from the College for Creative Studies in 1974 and has worked as a successful commercial photographer since 1977. Jordano returned to fine art photography in 2001, when he began work on his Chicago Bridge Project. In 2010, in response to the negative press coverage of his hometown, Jordano began a photographic series bearing witness to what has survived Detroit’s struggles and those who are left to cope with it. His series "Detroit—Unbroken Down" is the subject of a Powerhouse Books publication, released this fall. Jordano’s photographs are held in several public, private and corporate collections including the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Museum of Fine Art, Houston; and the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Visit the Art Gallery of Ontario to see the finalists’ exhibition until January 3 and go to www.aimiaagophotographyprize.com to learn more about the artists.
The Aimia | AGO Photography Prize has a total annual prize value of more than 100,000 CAD, with 50,000 CAD awarded to the winner, 5,000 CAD awarded to each of the other shortlisted artists, and 25,000 CAD supporting a national scholarship program for students studying photography at select institutions across Canada. The remainder funds six-week residencies across Canada for the four shortlisted artists.
About Aimia
Aimia is a data-driven marketing and loyalty analytics company; in Canada, it runs Aeroplan, the country’s premier coalition loyalty program. Aimia has adopted the fundamental principles of loyalty, trust and reciprocity as the pillars of its global social purpose—to create mutually beneficial partnerships that leave a lasting impact in our communities. An enthusiastic patron of the Arts, Aimia supports many Canadian and international arts and culture initiatives through donations, sponsorships and employee/volunteer activities. Aimia is proud to engage in a dialogue around the arts through the Aimia l AGO Photography Prize and scholarship program, and through our office art installations in Montreal and Toronto. Visit us at www.aimia.com to learn more.
About the AGO
With a collection of more than 90,000 works of art, the Art Gallery of Ontario is among the most distinguished art museums in North America. From the vast body of Group of Seven and signature Canadian works to the African art gallery, from cutting-edge contemporary art to Peter Paul Rubens’ masterpiece The Massacre of The Innocents, the AGO offers an incredible art experience with each visit. In 2002, Ken Thomson’s generous gift of 2,000 remarkable works of Canadian and European art inspired Transformation AGO, an innovative architectural expansion by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry that in 2008 resulted in one of the most critically acclaimed architectural achievements in North America. Visit ago.net to find out more.
