Sobey Art Award


The Sobey Art Award is Canada's largest prize for young Canadian artists. It is named after Canadian businessperson and art collector Frank H. Sobey, who established The Sobey Art Foundation. It is an annual prize given to an artist 40 and under who has exhibited in a public or commercial art gallery within 18 months of being nominated. A jury consisting of an international juror and representatives of galleries from the West Coast and the Yukon, the Prairies and the North, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces creates a longlist of 25 artists, five from each region. The jury meets to select the winner and four other finalists, one from each region. 2017 was the first year to see the shortlist dominated by women and also the first year that more than one Indigenous artist was shortlisted.
Up to 2013, a total of $70,000 in prize money was awarded each time the prize was presented; $50,000 to the winner and $5,000 to the other four finalists. In 2014 the total was increased to $100,000 with $50,000 to the winner and $12,500 to the other four finalists. In 2017, the money awarded to longlisted artists was increased from $500 to $1,000. In 2018, the prize money increased once again, to a total of $240,000; $100,000 to the winner, $25,000 for each of the other four finalists, and $2,000 for each short-listed artist.
The award was presented biennially until 2006 at which point it became an annual award. From its inception until 2015, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia organized and administered the Sobey Art Award and its accompanying exhibition. The National Gallery of Canada assumed responsibility for the award in 2016.

Winners

YearWinnerRegion
2002Brian JungenWest Coast and Yukon
2004Jean-Pierre GauthierQuebec
2006Annie PootoogookPrairies and the North
2007Michel de BroinQuebec
2008Tim LeeWest Coast and Yukon
2009David AltmejdQuebec
2010Daniel BarrowPrairies and the North
2011Daniel Young & Christian GirouxOntario
2012Raphaëlle de GrootQuebec
2013Duane LinklaterOntario
2014Nadia MyreQuebec
2015Abbas AkhavanOntario
2016Jeremy ShawWest Coast and Yukon
2017Ursula JohnsonAtlantic
2018Kapwani KiwangaOntario
2019Stephanie ComilangOntario