Ottawa, November 22, 2007 The Canada Council for the Arts announced today that the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is the recipient of the 2007 York Wilson Endowment Award, for the purchase of Along the Great Lakes and Landscape with Sea Boats from the series Television Works, by contemporary artist Iain Baxter& from Windsor, Ontario.
Since its creation in 1997, the York Wilson Endowment Award has been given annually to an eligible Canadian art museum or public gallery to assist with the purchase of an original artwork by a Canadian artist that will significantly enhance its collection. The award, which is the result of gifts of more than $600,000 from Lela Wilson and the late Maxwell Henderson, honours the contribution of Canadian painter York Wilson by assisting Canadian institutions to acquire works by living Canadian painters and sculptors.
Through the York Wilson Endowment Award, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS) receives $30,000 towards the acquisition of Along the Great Lakes (1999) and Landscape with Sea Boats (1999) from the series Television Works. AGNS will feature these new acquisitions in an environmental-themed exhibit at its facilities in Halifax and Yarmouth. In 2009-10 the AGNS will also exhibit Baxter&'s Passing Through: Iain Baxter& 1958-1983 an exhibition of photographs and light boxes.
"The AGNS is honoured to be the recipient of this prestigious award," says Jeffrey Spalding, AGNS Director and Chief Curator. "We credit this successful bid to the extraordinary qualities of the artist we proposed.
Iain Baxter& is one of Canada's most internationally renowned artists, a progenitor of the school of photo-conceptualism, and he claims ‘the camera is the new canvas'. His recent television series knits together painting, sculpture and new media, offering respect to the expressionist painterly legacy of York Wilson."
The members of the peer assessment committee for this year's award were curator Greg A. Hill (National Gallery of Canada), director Shirley J. Madill (Art Gallery of Greater Victoria), curator/critic Shauna Joanne McCabe (Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB).
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is the largest arts museum east of Quebec, and it has become a leading public collector and exhibitor of Canadian contemporary art. Over the last five years, 4,000 artworks have been added to its permanent collection that in total exceeds 13,000 pieces. It operates art museum facilities in Halifax as well as Yarmouth (the only permanent satellite gallery in Canada), with 35 full- and part-time staff and over 200 volunteers.
With its mandate to "bring the art of the world to Nova Scotia and the art of Nova Scotia to the world," the AGNS offers education and exhibition programs including in-school programs, artist contact, hands-on workshops as well as tours, symposia, films and lectures to diverse audiences in the Maritimes.
AGNS also circulates its self-generated exhibitions from its rich public collections to institutions regionally, nationally and abroad.
Last year, in partnership with the Canada Council, AGNS launched ARTreach, exhibitions of original works of Canadian art for smaller communities across Nova Scotia. It was so successful that Canada Council Art Bank now offers this model as a national program.
Iain Baxter&
Iain Baxter& is a conceptual artist known for his pioneering work in photo-based imagery and new media, such as his light box transparencies produced in 1969. His work combines playfulness with his concerns of ecological, social and conceptual issues using everyday objects. His work has been exhibited and collected by numerous museums including the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Vancouver Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada. He has received the Order of Canada, a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts and the Molson Prize among many others. He works and teaches at the University of Windsor.
Television Works, 1996-2007
Television Works is a series of obsolete television sets that have landscape scenes painted directly on the screens. The work comments on the clash between culture, nature and the environment. It makes a strong statement about our society's obsession with newness and the potential damage this poses to the environment. Works from this series have been exhibited at the Toronto International Art Fair, Walter Phillips Gallery (Banff, Alberta), University of Windsor, and Corkin Gallery (Toronto).
York Wilson prize presentation
The prize presentation and reception will take place on Friday, December 7 at 7:30 pm at the AGNS located at 1723 Hollis Street in Halifax. Representatives from the media are welcome to preview the work at 10:30 am on Dec 7. Please contact Jeff Gray at the AGNS at 902-424-2903 for more information.
General information
The Canada Council for the Arts is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2007. In addition to its principal role of promoting and fostering the arts in Canada, the Canada Council administers awards and fellowships to over 200 artists and scholars annually in the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural and health sciences, and engineering. Among these are the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts, the Killam Prizes, the Killam Research Fellowships, the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prizes, the Governor General's Literary Awards and the Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts.
For more information about these awards, including nomination procedures, contact Janet Riedel Pigott, Acting Director, Endowments and Prizes, at 613-566-4414, or 1-800-263-5588, ext. 5041 or Carole Breton, Acting Endowments and Prizes Officer, at 613-566-4414, or 1-800-263-5588, ext. 4116.
Visit the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia's web site.
Visit our 50th anniversary web site.
