And the winners of the 2023 Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts are …
The prize comes with $25K and an exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada
The Canada Council for the Arts announced the winners of the 2023 Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts (GGArts) today. The prize, which was founded in 1999, is awarded to as many as eight honourees each year — folks with long and storied artistic careers. And the class of 2023 includes renowned documentary filmmakers, artists and "Canada's bad boy of photography."
The recipients are:
Evergon (Montreal), FASTWÜRMS (Mulmur, Ont.), Germaine Koh (Vancouver), Shannon Walsh (Vancouver), Tim Whiten (Toronto) and Nettie Wild (Vancouver).
In GGArts' special categories, Regina-based artist David Garneau is the winner of the Outstanding Contribution Award, which recognizes an "exceptional contribution to visual arts, media arts or fine crafts in a volunteer or professional capacity," and ceramic artist Grace Nickel (Winnipeg) is being honoured with the Saidye Bronfman Award. That one highlights achievement in craft, and is presented in partnership with the Canadian Museum of History, which will be acquiring a selection of her work for its collection.
Regardless of category, each of the eight winners receives $25,000 plus a bronze medallion, and a companion exhibition will appear at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. (The opening date is still TBA.) Funding for the prize is provided by the Canada Council of the Arts and winners are selected by an independent jury of peers.
"Every year, I am delighted to participate in celebrating visual, media and craft artists whose careers shape our imaginations and leave indelible marks on our lives and on our fate as a society," says Simon Brault, Director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts. "This year's award-winning artists have influenced our views, perceptions and experience of what Canada is and, more importantly, what it can become, with a growing emphasis on sharing artistic creation in all its diversity and boldness."
More on the winners' lives and art can be found on the GGArts website, where you'll discover short video portraits about each of the recipients.
Past honourees include Rebecca Belmore, Deanna Bowen, Adrian Stimson and Edward Burtynsky.
View a selection of artworks by 2023 GGArts winners.
