Ryerson Image Centre Exhibition Honours Late Photographic Artist

TORONTO, April 30, 2013 /CNW/ - The Arnaud Maggs exhibition opens to the public tomorrow at the Ryerson Image Centre (RIC) as part of the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival. Arnaud Maggs, winner of the 2012 Scotiabank Photography Award (SPA), designed this exhibition with Barr Gilmore and the curatorial team at the RIC before his untimely death last November. The exhibition is a component of the Award.

"Arnaud Maggs was a truly exceptional artist and an excellent choice for this award," said Edward Burtynsky, internationally renowned artist, chair of the SPA jury and co-founder of the Award. "On behalf of my colleagues on the jury and the SPA nominators, it is a pleasure to honour his work in this way. With his passing last fall we lost a great talent and friend. This exhibition highlights the breadth and depth of Arnaud's talent."

The opening of the exhibition also marks the launch of the book "Arnaud Maggs," a second component of the SPA, published and distributed worldwide by Steidl.

"Arnaud was the master of the archival image, and his extraordinary use of the ordinary is a wonder," said Jane Nokes, Scotiabank Director, Archives, Corporate Records and Fine Art, Executive Director and co-founder of the SPA. "As a professional archivist, I am in awe of his use of history to inform his work. His ability to bring the past into the present in a meaningful way makes him the archivist's hero as well as the art curator's dream."

Best known for his multiple-grid, serial photographs of faces and collections, systems and historical ephemera, Arnaud began his career as an artist in the mid-seventies at the age of 47, following success as a graphic designer and commercial and fashion photographer. His works and exhibitions include Complete Prestige 12" Jazz Catalogue, Charles Stainback's Special Collections and the Arnaud Maggs: Identification exhibition which opened at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa on May 3, 2012. Maggs is represented in Toronto by the Susan Hobbs Gallery.

"Arnaud was an artist of rigour, crystal clear vision, humour, and a humbling sense of awe for singular moments and the connections between them and he leaves behind a wealth of artistic creation that at once challenges and adds to our understanding of the photographic medium," said Ryerson Image Centre Director Doina Popescu. "It was a privilege to work with him on this exhibition. On behalf of the Ryerson Image Centre we invite art-enthusiasts to join us in this celebration of his work.

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 Edward Burtynsky. The winner's work is also featured at a primary exhibition during the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, the world's largest photography festival. The two shortlisted artists receive cash prizes of $5,000 each. The 2013 SPA finalists are Angela Grauerholz, Stan Douglas and Robert Walker. The 2013 SPA winner will be announced on May 16^th.

"The Maggs exhibition exemplifies the reason why Scotiabank has made a commitment to the arts," said Jacquie Ryan, Scotiabank Vice-President Sponsorships and Partnerships. "The arts inspire us to see the world in a different light and individually we gain so much more than we could imagine when we connect with artistic works. That connection is the reason we support the arts in communities in Canada as part of Scotiabank's global philanthropic program, Bright Future."

SPA is a Canada-wide search for excellence, peer-reviewed at each stage. Twelve nominators, select from a national sweep of experts, inclusive of art gallery directors, curators, practicing artists, professors, writers and critics, each nominate one candidate. Nominees are adjudicated by three jurors with renowned Canadian photographic artist Edward Burtynsky as jury chair. The SPA is the largest award in Canadian contemporary photography. For more information about the SPA, this exhibition and the 2013 finalists, please visit: www.scotiabank.com/photoaward

About Scotiabank:
In addition to the SPA, Scotiabank is committed to the Arts through its support of numerous arts and cultural festivals and events, including Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Scotiabank Buskerfest and the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival.

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.

About Ryerson Image Centre:
The Ryerson Image Centre (RIC), Toronto's newest cultural destination, is a centre of excellence for the public exhibition, research, study and teaching of photography and related disciplines, including new media, installation art and film. International in scope, the Ryerson Image Centre features three interrelated areas of activity: an exciting program of public exhibitions where innovative work by professional Canadian and international artists addresses social, cultural, historical and aesthetic issues; a world-class research centre that conducts research into the history of photography and documentary media, and offers an array of workshops, conferences and publication programs; and the collection, which is home to the famous Black Star Collection of black and white photojournalistic prints, as well as important fine art photographic holdings and artist archives. The new museum-standard facility consists of approximately 4,500 square feet of exhibition space; a Great Hall for lectures, conferences, screenings and receptions; a glassed-in entrance colonnade with the Salah J. Bachir New Media Wall, a 16-foot new media wall visible from the street; a temperature and humidity controlled vault for our growing collection; and a state of the art, professionally staffed research centre. The public can find more details, and subscribe to the Ryerson Image Centre email newsletter, at www.ryerson.ca/ric.

SOURCE: Scotiabank - Sponsorships & Donations