Five Artists from across Canada in the running for $50,000 prize

    TORONTO, May 20 /CNW/ - The shortlist for the 2008 Sobey Art Award,
presented by Scotiabank, was announced today by the Curatorial panel, naming
five exceptional Canadian artists contending for the 2008 Sobey Art Award, a
prize of $50,000:

    The five finalists are:

    Tim Lee, West Coast and Yukon region;
    Daniel Barrow, Prairies and the North region;
    Terence Koh, Ontario region;
    Raphaelle de Groot, Québec region;
    Mario Doucette, Atlantic region

    "The Sobey reminds us all, curators and casual viewers alike, that
Canadian artists are at the forefront of defining our communal identity and
envisioning our cultural values." said David Moos, Curator of Contemporary
Art, AGO and member of the 2008 Curatorial Panel "Participating in the process
of selecting artists for the Sobey Art Award confirmed the high quality of art
being produced in Canada, both in the major art centres as well as in remote
locations."
    Selected work from the shortlisted artists will be featured in an
exhibition hosted by the Institute for Contemporary Culture at the Royal
Ontario Museum and will run from August 30 to October 13 of 2008.
    "The 2008 Sobey Art Award shortlist is very strong and the works produced
by this group will certainly make for an engaging and dynamic exhibition,
where we will all be able to celebrate the artistic talent of young
Canadians," said Ray Cronin, Acting Director and Chief Curator Art Gallery of
Nova Scotia. "I am very much looking forward to working with all five artists
this fall."
    The winner of the 2008 Sobey Art Award will be announced during a gala
event at the Royal Ontario Museum on October 1, 2008.
    The 2008 Sobey Art Award Curatorial Panel comprises: Scott Watson,
Director/Curator, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, UBC; Anthony Kiendl,
Director, Plug-In ICA; David Moos, Curator of Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of
Ontario; Nathalie de Blois, Conservatrice de l'art actuel, Musée National des
beaux-arts du Québec; Gemey Kelly, Director/Curator of the Owens Art Gallery.

    BACKGROUND:

    The Sobey Art Award, created in 2002 by the Sobey Art Foundation, is an
annual prize given to an artist under 40 who has exhibited in a public or
commercial art gallery within 18 months of being nominated. Since its
inception the Sobey Art Award and accompanying exhibition have been organized
and administered by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Since 2006, thanks to an
on-going partnership with Scotiabank, the Sobey Art Award and exhibition are
celebrated annually.
    The Sobey Art Award curatorial advisory panel is made up of five
distinguished representatives from a Canadian art gallery in each of the five
regions. A panel of curatorial advisors, consisting of a representative from a
noted gallery in each of five regions (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario,
Prairies/North, and West Coast), develops the shortlist for the Award. The
curatorial panel creates a list of five artists from each region; these are
selected from the list of nominated artists, and based on their professional
knowledge of their regions and of the national art scene. The curatorial panel
then meets and chooses one representative from each region to be included on
the national shortlist. The panel will choose the winner on October 1, 2008.

    Sobey Art Foundation

    The Sobey Art Foundation was established in 1981 with a mandate to carry
on the work of entrepreneur and business leader, the late Frank H. Sobey, of
collecting and preserving representative examples of 19th and 20th century
Canadian art. One of the finest private collections of its kind, the Sobey Art
Foundation has assembled exemplary examples from Canadian Masters like
Cornelius Krieghoff, Tom Thomson and J.E.H MacDonald. The collection is housed
in an intimate setting at Crombie House, the former home of Frank Sobey and
his wife Irene in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. Tours are regularly scheduled
throughout the summer months and by appointment year round.

    Scotiabank

    Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live
and work, both in Canada and abroad. Recognized as a leader internationally
and among Canadian corporations for its charitable donations and philanthropic
activities, in 2007 the Bank provided more than $43 million in sponsorships
and donations to a variety of projects and initiatives, primarily in the areas
of healthcare, education, social services and arts and culture. Please visit
us at www.scotiabank.com.

    Art Gallery of Nova Scotia

    The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia strives to act as a gateway for the visual
arts in Atlantic Canada by bringing the art of the world to Nova Scotia and
the art of Nova Scotia to the world. It is an agency of the Province of Nova
Scotia responsible for the preservation, exhibition and education of art
through its branches in Halifax and Yarmouth.