The Sobey Art Award is the pre-eminent prize for Canadian artists 40 and under. Presented annually, the award celebrates some of our country’s most exciting young artists and provides significant financial recognition.
Sobey Art Foundation
The Sobey Art Foundation was established in 1981 with the mandate to carry on the work of entrepreneur and business leader, the late Frank H. Sobey, who was a dedicated collector of Canadian art. In 2002 the Sobey Art Award was founded and is recognized as one of the world’s most generous, privately-funded prizes for contemporary visual artists. The award is open to Canadian contemporary artists of all ages and aims to promote new developments in contemporary art and provide opportunities for artists, bringing them national and international attention.
Sobey Art Award
The Sobey Art Award is the pre-eminent prize for emerging Canadian artists of all ages.
Presented annually, the award celebrates some of our country’s most exciting artists and provides significant financial recognition. Awarding $400,000 per year to the long-listed, short-listed and winning artists, the Sobey Art Award is among the top privately funded contemporary art awards in the world.
Since it was created in 2002, the Sobey Art Award has had an undeniable impact on the careers of Canadian contemporary artists. Within little more than a decade, the award and its attendant publicity have also boosted awareness of contemporary art in Canada and further afield.
Each year, a jury comprised of one distinguished representative from each of Canada’s five regions — the Atlantic Provinces, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies and the North, and the West Coast and Yukon — as well as one international juror — oversees the selection process. The jury creates a list of five artists from each region selected from all regional nominees based on the jurors’ professional knowledge of their regions and of the national art scene. The jury then meets and chooses its shortlist, with one finalist from each region.
Over its 20-year legacy of supporting artists in Canada, Sobey Art Award past winners have included: Brian Jungen, Annie Pootoogook, Nadia Myre, Ursula Johnson, Kipwani Kiwanga, Stephanie Comilang, and last year’s winner Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory.
Crombie House
One of the finest private collections of its kind, the Sobey Art Foundation has assembled exemplary examples from Canadian Masters such as Cornelius Krieghoff, Tom Thomson J.E.H. MacDonald and David Milne. The collection is housed in an intimate setting at Crombie House, the former home of Frank Sobey and his wife Irene in Pictou County, NS. Tours are regularly scheduled throughout the summer months and by appointment year round.
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The Sobey Art Foundation was established in 1981 with the mandate to carry on the work of entrepreneur and business leader, the late Frank H. Sobey, who was a dedicated collector of Canadian art. Explore the links below to learn more about the company’s strategic efforts in these areas.
