Audain Prize for the Visual Arts

The Audain Prize for the Visual Arts (Audain Prize) is an annual award that recognizes a distinguished Canadian artist. Worth $100,000, it is one of Canada's most significant honours for the arts. The prize is supported by the Audain Foundation and presented by the Audain Art Museum.

History

The Audain Prize^[1] was established in 2004 by Michael Audain, Chair of the Audain Foundation. In 2019, the prize amount was increased to $100,000,^[2] bringing it in line with the Giller Prize and the Sobey Art Award, and renamed (previously the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts). From 2004 to 2018, the Audain Prize was funded by the Audain Foundation and administered by the Vancouver Art Gallery, in conjunction with the VIVA Awards. Since 2019, the Audain Prize continues to be supported by the Audain Foundation but is now administered by the Audain Art Museum.

Selection

An independent jury, composed of volunteers of the visual arts community, brings forth nominations, discusses, and then selects a recipient. Typically included are Directors or Chief Curators, and one past prize recipient.^[3]

One recipient is selected annually, although in 2013, the jury made an exception and selected two recipients - Gathie Falk and Takao Tanabe. In 2020, as a result of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts community, it was decided to allocate the prize monies to artist-run centres in British Columbia.

Recipients

• Ann Kipling (2004)^[4]
• Edward J. Hughes (2005)^[5]
• Eric Metcalfe (2006)^[6]
• Gordon Smith (2007)^[7]
• Jeff Wall (2008)^[8]
• Liz Magor (2009)^[9]
• Robert Davidson (2010)^[10]
• Rodney Graham (2011)^[11]
• Marian Penner Bancroft (2012)^[12]
• Takao Tanabe and Gathie Falk (2013)^[13]
• Fred Herzog (2014)^[14][15]
• Michael Morris (2015)^{[16][17][18][19]}
• Paul Wong (2016)^[20][21][22]
• Carole Itter (2017)^[23]
• Susan Point (2018)^[24]
• Stan Douglas (2019)^[25]
• 12 Artist Run Centres (2020)^[26]
• James Hart (2021)^[27]
• Ian Wallace (2022)^[28]
• Dana Claxton (2023)^[29]

References

1. "About". Audain Prize. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
2. Mackie, John (2019-03-19). "Audain Prize for B.C. artists increased to $100,000 | Vancouver Sun". Retrieved 2019-11-14.
3. "Audain Prize Jury Members". Audain Prize. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
4. . Vancouver Art Gallery. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
5. "B.C.'s VIVA award winners unveiled". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
6. "Vancouver artist Metcalfe scoops Audain Prize". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
7. "Gordon Smith". www.gallery.ca. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
8. "Jeff Wall wins $30,000 Audain Prize for B.C. artists". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
9. "Vancouver artist Liz Magor wins B.C.'s Audain Prize". CBC News. 2009-04-08.
10. "Haida artist Robert Davidson earns Audain Prize". Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
11. "Rodney Graham wins B.C.'s Audain art prize". CBC News. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
12. "Marian Penner Bancroft nabs Audain Prize, while Ron Tran and Beau Dick receive VIVA nods". Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
13. "Takao Tanabe, Gathie Falk win $30K Audain Prize for art". CBC News. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
14. "Photographer Fred Herzog wins Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts". Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
15. . www.vancouversun.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
16. "Audain Prize winner Michael Morris honoured with exhibition". Vancouver Sun. 2015-04-10. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
17. "Michael Morris wins Audain Prize; Elizabeth Zvonar and Cate Rimmer take other top art awards". Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly. 2015-04-10. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
18. "2 Artists and 1 Curator Win BC Awards - Canadian Art". Canadian Art. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
19. Amos, Robert. "Robert Amos: A Venice Letter from Michael Morris". Times Colonist. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
20. "B.C. artist Paul Wong awarded 2016 Audain Prize". Vancouver Sun. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
21. "Paul Wong wins Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts". Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
22. "Prestigious Awards Shine Light on Vancouver Artists". Canadian Art. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
23. "Winners Announced for BC's Biggest Art Prizes". Canadian Art. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
24. "Susan Point earns Audain Prize". burnabynow.com. 2018-04-14. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
25. "Vancouver artist Stan Douglas wins 2019 Audain Prize". Retrieved 2019-10-05.
26. Carlito, Pablo. "Audain Prize goes to 12 artist-run centres in B.C. in response to pandemic". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
27. Griffin, Kevin. "B.C. artist Jim Hart awarded the $100,000 Audain Prize for visual art". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
28. Mackie, John. "Ian Wallace wins the 2022 Audain Prize for Visual Art". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
29. Ditmars, Hadani. "Lakota artist Dana Claxton, whose work subverts assumptions about Indigenous identity, wins one of Canada's top art prizes". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 2023-09-26.

External links

Official web site