SOBEY LONG LIST ANNOUNCED CHECK IT OUT!

Image Courtesy of Canadian Art

Longlist Announced for the 2013 Sobey Art Award

April 19, 2013 – HALIFAX, NS – The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the Sobey Art Foundation are pleased to announce the longlist for the 2013 Sobey Art Award, the pre-eminent award for contemporary Canadian Art.

Sarah Fillmore Chief Curator, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and Curator, Sobey Art Award says:

"The list of artists proposed for this year's Award points to the vibrancy of practice in the country. We celebrate each of the nominated artists' achievements. Just as the artists nominated for this Award are aged 40 years and under, so are the curators who sit on this year's panel. It is hoped that this will continue to feed the next generation of curators in the country and energise the discourse of contemporary art."

Each year the Sobey Art Award is awarded to an artist age 40 and under who has exhibited in a public or commercial art gallery within 18 months of being nominated. The 2013 Curatorial Panel has announced that the 25 artists vying for the 2013 Sobey are:

West Coast and the Yukon

• Sonny Assu
• Cedric Bomford
• Isabelle Pauwels
• Mark Soo
• Brendan Tang

Prairies and the North

• Amalie Atkins
• Mark Clintberg
• Brenda Draney
• Simon Hughes
• Divya Mehra

Ontario

• Diane Borsato
• Brendan Fernandes
• David R. Harper
• Kristiina Lahde
• Duane Linklater

Quebec

• Anthony Burnham
• Jacynthe Carrier
• Peter Flemming
• Pascal Grandmaison
• Nadia Myre

Atlantic

• Tamara Henderson
• Stephen Kelly
• Lisa Lipton
• Michael Pittman
• Hans Wendt

The members of the 2013 Curatorial Panel are:

• Mireille Eagan, Curator of Canadian Art, The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery;
• Marie Claude Landry, Curator of Contemporary Art, Musée de Joliette;
• Melissa Bennett, Curator of Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of Hamilton;
• Jesse McKee, Curator, Walter Phillips Gallery, The Banff Centre;
• Charo Neville, Curator, Kamloops Art Gallery.

The 2013 shortlist of the Sobey Art Award will be announced in late June. Work by the shortlisted artists will be shown in an exhibition at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax opening on September 13, 2013 and the 2013 winner's announcement will take place at a Gala event at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia on October 9, 2013.

For more detailed biographical information on the 25 long listed artists and members of the Curatorial Panel please go to: www.sobeyartaward.ca

About the Sobey Art Award
The Sobey Art Award, Canada's preeminent award for contemporary Canadian art, was created in 2002 by the Sobey Art Foundation. It is an annual prize given to an artist age 40 and under who has exhibited in a public or commercial art gallery within 18 months of being nominated. A total of $70,000 in prize money is awarded annually; $50,000 to the winner and $5,000 to the other four finalists. Since its inception, the Sobey Art Award and accompanying exhibition have been organised and administered by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. For information visit: www.sobeyartaward.ca

About the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is the largest art museum in Atlantic Canada with a mission to engage people with art. With locations in downtown Halifax and Yarmouth, the Gallery houses the Province's art collection and offers a range of exceptional exhibitions, education and public programming. For information: www.artgalleryofnovascotia.ca