Canadian Art Foundation Writing Prize
The Canadian Art Foundation Writing Prize is an annual juried prize designed to encourage new writers on contemporary art. The winner of this national competition is commissioned to write a feature story for Canadian Art and receives a $3,000 award, while two runners-up receive recognition in the magazine and a $1,000 award.
Véronique Leblanc is the winner of 2011 Canadian Art Foundation Writing Prize. Leblanc currently works as a researcher at Galerie de l’UQAM and also teaches art history at Université du Québec à Montréal and Université Laval. As a curator, she recently co-organized the exhibition “Artur Zmijewski: Scenarios of Dissidence” at Galerie de l'UQAM with Louise Déry. Upcoming projects include “The Geopolitics of Infinity,” featuring new works from Jean-Pierre Aubé and Patrick Beaulieu, at Sporobole in 2012. Her essays have been published in the journals ETC and Espace Sculpture.
The 2011 runners-up are Kelly Phillips of Vancouver and Stefan Hancherow of Toronto.
The 2011 jury—Canadian Art editor Richard Rhodes, Galerie de l’UQAM director Louise Déry and Presentation House Gallery director/curator Reid Shier—chose Leblanc’s submission from a competitive field of 34 applicants.
Past Winners
2010
Pandora Syperek is a writer, curator and artist currently undertaking a PhD in art history at University College London. Previously, she worked in the curatorial department at the Walter Phillips Gallery, where she co-curated the exhibition “Radio Free Banff” with Naomi Potter. She also coordinated the visual art residency program at the Banff Centre. As winner of this national competition, Syperek received $3,000 and wrote a feature story for Canadian Art on Brendan Fernandes.
The 2010 prize’s two runners-up were Vancouver’s Deirdre McAdams and Montreal’s Vency Yun.
2009
Sara Mameni, winner of the first Canadian Art Foundation Writing Prize, published an expanded version of her award-winning story on artist Denise Oleksijczuk and the making of her 2008 film Role. Mameni has been Education Coordinator at the Vancouver Art Gallery and is currently a doctoral student in contemporary art at the University of California at San Diego.
Runners-up for 2009 were Alissa Firth-Eagland and Kate Steinmann, both of Vancouver at the time of the win.
Past jury members have included Canadian Art editor Richard Rhodes, Illingworth Kerr Gallery director Wayne Baerwaldt, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia director Ray Cronin, Toronto critic Sarah Milroy and Calgary critic Nancy Tousley.
Canadian Art Foundation Writing Prize 2012 Application Information
To be eligible, applicants must be 18 years of age or older and may have published no more than three feature-length (1,500-plus word) pieces of writing in national or international magazines.
To apply, please submit one 1,500-word example of art writing, plus a 100-word biographical sketch, by June 1, 2012, at 5 pm EDT.
Submissions must be in English. Translations are accepted.
Submissions must be sent by mail only. Fax and email submissions will not be accepted. Postmarked submissions will not be accepted.
Send four (4) copies of one (1) writing sample and bio to:
Attention: Canadian Art Writing Prize
Canadian Art Foundation
215 Spadina Avenue, Suite 320
Toronto, ON M5T 2C7
Winners will be notified by July 20, 2012.
