Yukon visual artists are eligible to apply for a $20,000 prize to support their art through a privately-funded award.
Applications for the 2023 Yukon Prize for Visual Arts are now open. APPLY HERE. The deadline is February 28, 2023.
Three outstanding Canadian arts professionals have been named as the jury who will select the finalists and the recipient of the 2023 Yukon Prize.
They are Dr. Heather Igloliorte, an Inuk from Nunatsiavut, University Research Chair in Circumpolar Indigenous Arts at Concordia University in Montreal, and Coordinating Producer for the 2022 Arctic Arts Summit; Michelle Jacques, Head of Exhibitions and Collections/Chief Curator of the Remai Modern gallery in Saskatoon SK and former Chief Curator at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria; and Sarah Milroy, Chief Curator of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg ON and former Chief Art Critic for the Globe and Mail.
The Yukon Prize for Visual Arts offers a $20,000 prize to an outstanding Yukon visual artist, as selected by the jury. Five other short-listed finalists will receive a $2,000 prize.
For the first time this year, a long-list of finalists will be published, offering recognition to a larger number of talented artists.
The Yukon Prize for Visual Arts recognizes excellence by Yukon visual artists and is intended to be a catalyst for the promotion of Yukon visual art across Canada. The Yukon Prize has been established in partnership with the Yukon Arts Foundation and the Yukon Arts Centre by co-founders Julie Jai and David Trick, with the support of a dedicated team of volunteers.
The prize is open to Yukon artists working in any medium, including painting, carving, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, electronic media, photography, textiles, glass, regalia, jewelry and drawing.
In May 2023, the jury will choose the long-list of finalists. A short-list of six finalists will be announced in June. The three jurors will travel to Whitehorse for the Yukon Prize weekend, September 15-17, 2023, to select the winner of the $20,000 prize. A celebratory event will be held that weekend to announce the winner and honour Yukon visual arts and artists.
All six finalists will be included in a curated group exhibition in Whitehorse at the Yukon Arts Centre Gallery from September to November 2023.
The first artist to win the $20,000 Yukon Prize was Joseph Tisiga, in November 2021. The other 2021 Yukon Prize finalists were Ken Anderson (Khàtinas.àxh), Amy Ball, Krystle Silverfox, Sho Sho “Belelige” Esquiro, and Veronica Verkley.
For more information about the prize, please go to the Yukon Prize website at www.yukonprize.ca