Six visionary artists from across Canada redefining the boundaries of contemporary art have been shortlisted for the 2026 Sobey Art Award. The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) and the Sobey Art Foundation (SAF) today revealed the finalists for Canada’s most established contemporary visual arts prize since 2002:
Melaw Nakehk’o, for the Circumpolar region. Nakehk’o is an educator whose multidisciplinary practice spans textile arts, filmmaking, and land-based pedagogy. By reviving traditional moosehide tanning and community-focused teachings, they have inspired a powerful cultural resurgence across the Circumpolar region.
Samuel Roy-Bois, for the Pacific region. Roy-Bois is an acclaimed artist and UBC Okanagan Associate Professor whose multidisciplinary practice explores sculpture, installation, photography, and the built environment.
Audie Murray, for the Prairies region. Murray is a Métis and Cree artist from the Flying Dust First Nation whose multidisciplinary practice explores ancestral knowledge, memory, and contemporary Indigenous life.
Lotus L. Kang, for the Ontario region. Kang explores themes of impermanence, inheritance, and time through a materially dense practice spanning sculpture, photography, and site-responsive installation. By utilizing unstable, organic, and structural forms that refuse to settle, her fluid work visualizes the environment and the self as deeply interconnected and ever-evolving.
Caroline Monnet, for the Quebec region. Multidisciplinary artist Caroline Monnet creates work that draws from her Anishinaabe and French ancestry.
Shane Perley-Dutcher, for the Atlantic region. Shane Perley-Dutcher, a Wolastokew (Maliseet) visual artist and metalsmith from New Brunswick, transforms traditional Wabanaki ash basketry by weaving metal splints into imaginative, mixed-media basket sculptures.
“Every year, the Sobey Art Award reminds us of the incredible depth, resilience, and talent in Canada’s contemporary art community. This year’s shortlisted artists are not just experts of their craft; they are vital cultural voices challenging how we see history, environment, and identity,” said Rob Sobey, Chair, Sobey Art Foundation. “The Sobey Art Foundation is immensely proud to champion these six phenomenal finalists as they take this well-deserved place on the national stage, and we cannot wait to share their vision with audiences across Canada and internationally.”
“This year’s shortlisted artists represent a dynamic cross-section of contemporary visual practice. Though innovative and compelling transformations of materials, their artworks shape and are shaped by deep personal, cultural, and material histories and experience. We are thrilled to bring their work together at the National Gallery of Canada this September for an exhibition that promises to be a deeply moving experience for visitors,” said Jonathan Shaughnessy, Director, Curatorial Initiatives, NGC, and Chair, 2026 Sobey Award Jury.
A total of CAD 465,000, in prize money will be awarded, including the CAD 100,000 grand prize. Each of the shortlisted artists receives CAD 25,000 and each of the remaining longlisted artists receives CAD 10,000. The winner of the award will be announced at a special celebration on November 14, 2026. An exhibition featuring works by the six shortlisted artists will be held at the Gallery, opening on September 4, 2026, and running until January 4, 2027.
For media inquiries, please contact National Gallery of Canada:
Josée-Britanie Mallet
bmallet@gallery.ca
Pénélope Carreau
pcarreau@gallery.ca
