TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2013 /CNW/ - Scotiabank today announced the events for the 2013 Scotiabank Photography Award (SPA). This is the third year of this prestigious award, the largest annual peer reviewed award in Canadian contemporary photography.

"The two previous award recipients exemplified the talent, creativity and importance of Canadian contemporary photography with first Lynne Cohen and then Arnaud Maggs," said Sabi Marwah, Vice-Chairman and Chief Operating Officer, Scotiabank. "Through the Bright Future philanthropic program, Scotiabank supports many forms of art. Our customers and communities see art as an opportunity to see the world in a different way and as a source of great inspiration. At the same time, our ability to highlight amazing Canadian talent both in this country and globally through this award is gratifying and it enables us to give something back to individual artists and Canadian art communities that support them. We look forward to seeing the innovative and engaging works that the jury selects for the 2013 shortlist and then our ultimate winner."

Key dates for the 2013 Scotiabank Photography Award:

• March 5, 2013: Announcement of the shortlist.
• Week of April 29, 2013: Book launch featuring the 2012 SPA winner, the late Arnaud Maggs, and media preview of Maggs' exhibit at Ryerson Image Centre (exact day to be confirmed closer to date).
• May 16^th, 2013: Announcement of the 2013 SPA winner at the Ryerson Image Centre.

"Our nominators and jurors come from all areas of Canada and the world and will work hard to make sure that the 2013 Scotiabank Photography Award is truly representative of the breadth and depth of talent that exists in Canadian contemporary photography," said SPA Chair, Edward Burtynsky.  "On behalf of the SPA and its Executive Director Jane Nokes, I would like to extend our thanks to each of the nominators and jurors for contributing their time and talent to this process. We also welcome the Ryerson Image Centre to the 2013 SPA and look forward to working with them as the site for the exhibition of the SPA 2012 Winner, Arnaud Maggs. "

The SPA was founded on behalf of Scotiabank by internationally renowned Canadian photo artist Edward Burtynsky, Chair of SPA, and Jane Nokes, Director, Scotiabank Archives, Corporate Records and Fine Art Collection and Executive Director of SPA. The award was conceived and designed to profile an established Canadian photo-based artist, raising him or her to the next level of national and international recognition. The winner receives a cash prize of $50,000 and a book published and distributed world-wide by esteemed photography publisher Steidl (Germany) and overseen by Ed Burtynsky. The winner's work is also featured at a curated exhibition at the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, the world's largest photography festival. The two shortlisted artists receive cash prizes of $5,000 each.

SPA is a Canada-wide peer driven search with twelve nominators selected from a national sweep of experts in the fields of contemporary art, inclusive of art gallery directors, curators, practicing artists, professors, writers and critics. They will each nominate one candidate. The nominees will be adjudicated by three jurors with renowned Canadian photographic artist Edward Burtynsky as jury chair. For more detail on the 2013 judges and nominators, please see the attached background document.

For more information about the prize please visit: http://www.scotiabankphotoaward.com/index.html

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad, through our global philanthropic program, Scotiabank Bright Future.  Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, Scotiabank has provided on average approximately $47 million annually to community causes around the world over each of the last five years. Visit us at www.scotiabank.com.

Backgrounder: Scotiabank Photography Award Judges and Nominators:

2013 Scotiabank Photography Award Judges:
William A. Ewing Director of Curatorial Projects,
Thames & Hudson London / New York / Paris / Singapore / Hong Kong / Melbourne
Karen Love  Independent Curator and Writer, Director of Foundation and Government Grants, Vancouver Art Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia
Ann Thomas Curator, Photographs Collection, National Gallery of Canada
Ottawa, Canada

2013 Scotiabank Photography Award Nominators:
Robert Bean, Independent Artist and Writer, Professor of Photography, NSCAD University
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Lynne Cohen, Artist and Inaugural Winner of the Scotiabank Photography Award (2011)
Montreal, Quebec
Carolyn Bell Farrell, Executive Director, MacLaren Art Centre,
Barrie, ON
Sarah Fillmore, Chief Curator, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Curator, Sobey Art Award
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Barbara Fischer, Executive Director/Chief Curator, Justina M. Barnicke Gallery and Senior Lecturer, Curatorial Studies, Department of Art, University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario
Gary Hall, Executive Director Gallery TPW
Toronto, ON
Nataley Nagy, Executive Director, Kelowna Art Gallery
Kelowna, British Columbia
Helga Pakasaar, Independent Art Curator and Writer, Curator, Presentation House Gallery
North Vancouver, British Columbia
Carol Podedworny, Director and Chief Curator, McMaster Museum of Art, Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of the Arts, McMaster University
Hamilton, Ontario
Stuart Reid Director/Curator, Rodman Hall Art Centre, Brock University
St. Catharines, Ontario
Christine Sowiak, Curator of Art, Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta
Meeka Walsh, Editor, Border Crossings magazine
Winnipeg, Manitoba

SOURCE: Scotiabank