Latest news with #SobeyArtAward
CBC
11 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- CBC
At age 69, Inuk artist Shirley Moorhouse is having a moment
"This is the ensemble of the lady who has everything," Shirley Moorhouse says, reaching for an opulent seal skin apron, which is pinned to the wall of her Happy Valley-Goose Bay studio. The 69-year-old Inuk artist is one of 30 artists on the long list for the 2025 Sobey Art Award. With a top prize of $100,000, it's among the most prestigious art awards in the country. "It's a full seal skin cut out in ulu shapes on the bottom. It's lined on the top with rabbit skin," she explains. "I made a seal skin oven glove that was lined with rabbit. And a little silver claw, which is absolutely useless." A handbag, a wine goblet and a pair of high heels — adorned with seal and rabbit skin — complete the look, Moorhouse says, along with the "most useless crown in the whole wide world." Lined with seal skin, this crown bears spikes made of barbecue skewers, all dipped in blue, black and silver beads. "I like lushness, you know," said Moorhouse. "Lushness and fullness and happiness and sparkles." In fact, Moorhouse seems to sparkle with joy — especially as her art career continues to take off. Moorhouse's solo exhibition, "ᐃᔨ -Eyes" is opening at The Rooms in St. John's on Tuesday. The exhibition is a retrospective, celebrating 30 years of her work. "To have one of your pieces shown at The Rooms is, you know, marvellous enough for me, but to have a solo exhibition in the main hall over the summer season when it's going to be busiest, and then to have publication after that, it's unreal," she said. That publication, Moorhouse explains, is an upcoming book showcasing her art, which is geared toward general and academic audiences. Her piece Canadian Sovereignty of the Northern Lights is also slated for display at the National Gallery of Canada this October. Moorhouse said she's blown away by all of the recognition. "The Sobey long list is just like a pot of gold a leprechaun left for me," she said. And although she's surprised by the sudden momentum of her art career, Moorhouse said that as an artist in Nunatsiavut, who worked for years to make inroads with artistic institutions, this also feels like a true moment of reconciliation. "Through this path, I'm coming up to 70 years old now," Moorhouse said. "A whole lot of streams, a whole lot of rivulets, [are] all finely braided into this particular time." Back to school at 65 Moorhouse was just a baby, blinking in her crib, when the first seed of her upcoming exhibition was planted. She said her grandmother took one look at her and called her ijiik, the Inuktitut word for "eyes." "I thought it meant originally about the shape of my eyes, but later I came to know it meant more," she said. "My eyes are grabbing the history around me, recording it, and I try to record it in any way possible that I can." As a child, Moorhouse said she kept busy creating, colouring and reading. But school was a challenge, and she ultimately dropped out of high school. Later, Moorhouse completed her high school diploma. Opportunity knocked in 1995, when the Labrador College — now known as the College of the North Atlantic in Happy Valley-Goose Bay — ran a two-year diploma course in heritage crafts. For her first project, Moorhouse created her very first wall hanging. That piece caught the eye of Mi'kmaq artist Jerry Evans, who was working on a book about Indigenous artists in the province at the time. Over the years, Moorhouse continued creating, writing poetry, producing more of her distinctive, renowned wall hangings, and occasionally exhibiting her work. But her career kicked into high gear a couple of years ago, when she pursued her master's degree in fine arts at Memorial University's Grenfell campus in Corner Brook. "I figured, well, I got to do something different. It was just my 65th birthday," she said. Heading back to school in her 60s wasn't exactly easy. Moorhouse had to get used to all the latest technology. But the inclusive Grenfell fine arts program was "just amazing," she said. "If I can do it, so can you," she said. Recognition a 'sign of reconciliation' for Indigenous artists Moorhouse looks around her studio, full of gratitude. This space is a recent development, secured through a grant from the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council. A ledge beneath her window holds enough space for "the acres and the mileage and the poundable of beads" used in her work. The windows are draped in shimmering, sheer tulle, resembling "gossamer thoughts, or gossamer colours caught in thoughts." Moorhouse said things have certainly changed for Nunatsiavut artists during her lifetime. When she began creating art, there was no recognition or help from the provincial and federal governments. She also says Inuit history was "basically ignored" in school curriculums, and Indigenous artists had to fight for space in artistic institutions. "Coming into The Rooms now as an Indigenous artist at my age, you know, it's a very satisfying period in my life. I'm more than satisfied. I'm grateful every day," she said. "The Indigenous people of Newfoundland and Labrador are finally getting recognition within the institutions that should have included us in the first place." With each new piece, Moorhouse said, she's also carrying on Inuit traditions her own family practiced for survival. "Now, you know, a couple of generations later, here I am doing it as art," she said. "Which is absolutely wonderful."
Cision Canada
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cision Canada
Nadia Myre: Waves of Want Français
Presented in conjunction with the Gallery's new Skawennati solo exhibition OTTAWA, ON, May 28, 2025 /CNW/ - From May 30 to September 1, 2025, the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) presents Nadia Myre: Waves of Want, a solo exhibition that looks at the artistic and critical process of interdisciplinary artist Nadia Myre from over two decades, including new works recently created in France and in Scotland. Born in Montreal, Myre is a member of the Algonquin Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Nation. The artist—a 2014 Sobey Art Award winner—uses a wide range of media (film, sculpture installation, audio, drawing, beadwork, photography, poetry and leather works) to tell stories that span generations. "Nadia Myre is an internationally recognized artist, celebrated with multiple national arts awards over many years of active practice," said Jean-François Bélisle, Director & CEO, National Gallery of Canada. "Her works shape elegant and uneasy questions and reflections about coloniality and Indigenous sovereignty, and the materials that have shaped those experiences. The National Gallery of Canada is proud to present visitors with artistic experiences that reflect our ongoing challenges and opportunities as a society and as a culture." "Nadia Myre's artworks embody gestures of decolonization, both literally and figuratively, recording observations and injustice amidst the intersections of cultures, languages and identities. Enigmatic, thoughtful and perceptive, Myre mines personal and collective memory to craft decolonial narratives in unexpected ways," wrote Steven Loft, Vice-President, and Michelle LaVallee, Director, Indigenous Ways and Curatorial Initiatives, of Indigenous Ways and Decolonization at the NGC, in their introduction to the exhibition catalogue. Organized by the National Gallery of Canada and curated by Rachelle Dickenson, Associate Curator, from the Indigenous Ways and Decolonization Department at the NGC, with the artist and Gallery staff, Nadia Myre: Waves of Want brings together more than 60 works from various collections and sparks reflection and dialogue on how we navigate our histories through art, archive and language. Presented for the first time ever in Canada is Your Waves of Want Wash Over Us (2024), an almost 9-meter-long installation made of a series of tubular, curved ceramics forms affixed to the wall that Nadia Myre created in France. With this work, from which the title of the exhibition is inspired, Myre uses different forms of communication to convey the complicated relationships between colonialism and Indigenous nationhood, as well as between people. Among other key works on view is History in Two Parts (2000), a canoe made of birch bark and aluminum that the artist recently restored at the Gallery with artist Pinock aka Daniel Smith, also a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation. A video she created shortly after the canoe, titled Portrait in Motion, is also on view in the last gallery of the exhibition. It is a portrait of Myre's rejection of the Western gaze to subvert romanticized notions of Indigenous people. Most of the art works on display in Nadia Myre: Waves of Want are drawn from the artist's personal collection. Other works on view are from the National Gallery of Canada's collection (5), the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, US and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Catalogue A richly illustrated catalogue with essays accompanies the exhibition Nadia Myre: Waves of Want. The 176—pages softcover comprises essays by Guy Sioui Durand and Marie-Ève Beaupré and is available at the Boutique and online. Public programs A shared space, Giiwitaashkodeng | Kahwá:tsire—the Gathering of all Embers, is connecting the exhibitions Skawennati: Welcome to the Dreamhouse and Nadia Myre: Waves of Want, both presented at the same time. This gathering space is for coming together, learning and reflecting on both exhibitions. In Giiwitaashkodeng | Kahwá:tsire, visitors are invited to leave their reflections on the exhibitions as part of the community fire and create their own wallpaper designs and paper dolls inspired by the works of Skawennati and Nadia Myre. Additional learning activities planned include beading workshops with Ojibwe artist Amanda Fox, miniature birch bark canoe workshop with Algonquin artisan Pinock (Daniel Smith), special meet the artist tours, and ongoing tours with interpreters. Visit for more details. About the National Gallery of Canada Founded in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada is among the world's most respected art institutions. As a national museum, we exist to serve all Canadians, no matter where they live. We do this by sharing our collection, exhibitions and public programming widely. We create dynamic experiences that allow for new ways of seeing ourselves and each other through the visual arts, while centering Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Our mandate is to develop, preserve and present a collection for the learning and enjoyment of all—now and for generations to come. We are home to more than 90,000 works, including one of the finest collections of Indigenous and Canadian art, major works from the 14 th to the 21 st century and extensive library and archival holdings.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nadia Myre: Waves of Want
Presented in conjunction with the Gallery's new Skawennati solo exhibition OTTAWA, ON, May 28, 2025 /CNW/ - From May 30 to September 1, 2025, the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) presents Nadia Myre: Waves of Want, a solo exhibition that looks at the artistic and critical process of interdisciplinary artist Nadia Myre from over two decades, including new works recently created in France and in Scotland. Born in Montreal, Myre is a member of the Algonquin Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Nation. The artist—a 2014 Sobey Art Award winner—uses a wide range of media (film, sculpture installation, audio, drawing, beadwork, photography, poetry and leather works) to tell stories that span generations. "Nadia Myre is an internationally recognized artist, celebrated with multiple national arts awards over many years of active practice," said Jean-François Bélisle, Director & CEO, National Gallery of Canada. "Her works shape elegant and uneasy questions and reflections about coloniality and Indigenous sovereignty, and the materials that have shaped those experiences. The National Gallery of Canada is proud to present visitors with artistic experiences that reflect our ongoing challenges and opportunities as a society and as a culture." "Nadia Myre's artworks embody gestures of decolonization, both literally and figuratively, recording observations and injustice amidst the intersections of cultures, languages and identities. Enigmatic, thoughtful and perceptive, Myre mines personal and collective memory to craft decolonial narratives in unexpected ways," wrote Steven Loft, Vice-President, and Michelle LaVallee, Director, Indigenous Ways and Curatorial Initiatives, of Indigenous Ways and Decolonization at the NGC, in their introduction to the exhibition catalogue. Organized by the National Gallery of Canada and curated by Rachelle Dickenson, Associate Curator, from the Indigenous Ways and Decolonization Department at the NGC, with the artist and Gallery staff, Nadia Myre: Waves of Want brings together more than 60 works from various collections and sparks reflection and dialogue on how we navigate our histories through art, archive and language. Presented for the first time ever in Canada is Your Waves of Want Wash Over Us (2024), an almost 9-meter-long installation made of a series of tubular, curved ceramics forms affixed to the wall that Nadia Myre created in France. With this work, from which the title of the exhibition is inspired, Myre uses different forms of communication to convey the complicated relationships between colonialism and Indigenous nationhood, as well as between people. Among other key works on view is History in Two Parts (2000), a canoe made of birch bark and aluminum that the artist recently restored at the Gallery with artist Pinock aka Daniel Smith, also a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation. A video she created shortly after the canoe, titled Portrait in Motion, is also on view in the last gallery of the exhibition. It is a portrait of Myre's rejection of the Western gaze to subvert romanticized notions of Indigenous people. Most of the art works on display in Nadia Myre: Waves of Want are drawn from the artist's personal collection. Other works on view are from the National Gallery of Canada's collection (5), the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, US and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Catalogue A richly illustrated catalogue with essays accompanies the exhibition Nadia Myre: Waves of Want. The 176—pages softcover comprises essays by Guy Sioui Durand and Marie-Ève Beaupré and is available at the Boutique and online. Public programs A shared space, Giiwitaashkodeng | Kahwá:tsire—the Gathering of all Embers, is connecting the exhibitions Skawennati: Welcome to the Dreamhouse and Nadia Myre: Waves of Want, both presented at the same time. This gathering space is for coming together, learning and reflecting on both exhibitions. In Giiwitaashkodeng | Kahwá:tsire, visitors are invited to leave their reflections on the exhibitions as part of the community fire and create their own wallpaper designs and paper dolls inspired by the works of Skawennati and Nadia Myre. Additional learning activities planned include beading workshops with Ojibwe artist Amanda Fox, miniature birch bark canoe workshop with Algonquin artisan Pinock (Daniel Smith), special meet the artist tours, and ongoing tours with interpreters. Visit for more details. About the National Gallery of Canada Founded in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada is among the world's most respected art institutions. As a national museum, we exist to serve all Canadians, no matter where they live. We do this by sharing our collection, exhibitions and public programming widely. We create dynamic experiences that allow for new ways of seeing ourselves and each other through the visual arts, while centering Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Our mandate is to develop, preserve and present a collection for the learning and enjoyment of all—now and for generations to come. We are home to more than 90,000 works, including one of the finest collections of Indigenous and Canadian art, major works from the 14th to the 21st century and extensive library and archival holdings. Ankosé – Everything is connected – Tout est relié SOURCE National Gallery of Canada View original content to download multimedia:
Winnipeg Free Press
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Techno tinkering offers fresh perspective on AI possibilities
Opinion WHAT IT IS: Winnipeg-based interdisciplinary artist Erika Jean Lincoln has just made the longlist of nominees for the annual Sobey Art Award, which recognizes exceptional contemporary visual artists from across Canada. A self-identified 'crip-techno-tinkerist,' Lincoln often explores the intriguing overlaps among artmaking, artificial intelligence and neurodivergence. Emotions — A Walk in the Forest: A Convo w/ A.I. #2 is one of a series of 12 'collaborative' works involving the artist and a drawing machine. WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Lincoln has always been interested in the ways humans and machines process and communicate information. Drawing on work with neuroscientists, software engineers and disability-arts activists, she creates complex, interactive installations that can involve computer programming, automated systems, generative sound and images, robotics and assistive devices. SUPPLIED Emotions — A Walk in the Forest: A Convo w/ A.I. #2 In this 18-by-24-inch work, the scrawled words, in black ink, come from notes Lincoln made while reading a popular textbook on AI, Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig's Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach. Lincoln has deliberately left in spelling and spacing mistakes, suggesting the idiosyncrasies of her individual human response. Meanwhile, the machine-generated drawing, seen in the lighter-coloured ink, has its own idiosyncrasies. In Lincoln's 2023 exhibition Arboreal Intuitions, a plotter — a machine that interprets computer commands to make line drawings on paper — was programmed to render images of tree rings affected by Dutch elm disease. At one point, the plotter broke down and became physically unable to execute its programming, instead creating a long, continuous, meandering line. To Lincoln, this wayward departure from standard programming seemed to parallel her own circling and complicated thoughts about AI. Lincoln's work has always resisted generalized or oversimplified ways of looking at both human and machine intelligence. This approach is rooted in her habit of tinkering with emerging technologies, as well as her own experience of neurodivergence. Several of the drawings in the series A Walk in the Forest reference different modes of knowledge, including embodied, emotive and sensory apprehensions of our environments. Other pieces speculate about the limitations and possibilities of AI and machine learning. In the case of this drawing, Lincoln conveys a sympathetic human connection to AI, with a poignant response to the melancholy plight of discarded technology. During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. WHY IT MATTERS: Because so many of the current uses of artificial intelligence involve malicious disinformation and unbearably awful kitsch, it's easy to fall into a doom-laden view of AI as an evil, unstoppable, art-devouring force. But artists have always used tools and technologies, from traditional forms of sculpture, painting and printmaking to later 'new media' incursions into video and audio. Rejecting the binary positioning of human originality and creativity on one side and mechanistic algorithms on the other, Lincoln chooses to see AI as another medium for artists to explore. With a clear-eyed look at what machine learning can and cannot do, Lincoln's work tinkers with this new technology, trying to figure out ways artists can engage with AI in challenging, creative and innovative ways. Lincoln will be taking part in Dispelling Misconceptions: A Fresh Perspective on AI, along with artists Aderemilekun 'Oluuji' Olusoga and Kris Snowbird. Presented by First Fridays in the Exchange, Video Pool Media Arts Centre and Harbour Collective, the talk will take place on May 2 at 6 p.m. at THE PIVOT, located on the second floor of the Artspace Building at 100 Arthur St. Admission is free.) Alison GillmorWriter Studying at the University of Winnipeg and later Toronto's York University, Alison Gillmor planned to become an art historian. She ended up catching the journalism bug when she started as visual arts reviewer at the Winnipeg Free Press in 1992. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
The 2025 Sobey Art Award long list is here
The long list for the 2025 Sobey Art Award, one of Canada's most prestigious art prizes, was announced this morning. The 30 artists selected from six regions across the country will contend for the $100,000 top honour. Artists named to the short list will win $25,000 and the remaining long-listers will each be awarded $10,000. This year's long list recognizes a wide array of practices, including artists known for mask-making, jewelry design and textile portraiture. With a total $465,000 in prize money, the Sobey Art Award is not only the largest purse for contemporary artists in Canada, but it is one of the richest art prizes in the world. It aims to promote exceptional Canadian talent to audiences both at home and abroad. "Providing a platform for Canada's most pertinent artistic voices has long been a key pillar of the Award and something that is ever more consequential," reads a statement from the jury. "This year's selection, drawn from a strong pool of nominations, is a testament to the compelling breadth and calibre of contemporary artmaking in this country."The six shortlisted artists will be announced on June 3, and their work will be featured in an exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada next fall. The grand prize winner will be named at a gala in Ottawa on November 8. The 2024 Sobey Art Award was won by Nico Williams. Past winners also include Brian Jungen, Abbas Akhavan and Kapwani Kiwanga. The artists of the 2025 Sobey Art Award long list are: Circumpolar Darcie Bernhardt Tarralik Duffy Megan Jensen Shirley Moorhouse Mathew Nuqingaq Pacific Charles Campbell Hazel Meyer Michelle Sound Charlene Vickers Tania Willard Prairies Christina Battle Molly JF Caldwell Erika Jean Lincoln Jessie Ray Short Chukwudubem Ukaigwe Ontario Sandra Brewster Christian Chapman Sarindar Dhaliwal Morris Lum Shellie Zhang Quebec Joyce Joumaa Michelle Lacombe Leisure (Susannah Wesley and Meredith Carruthers) Malena Szlam Salazar Swapnaa Tamhane Atlantic Hangama Amiri Erin Hunt Megan Samms Miya Turnbull Nelson White
