Shortlist to be announced March 8

TORONTO, Feb. 7, 2017 /CNW/ - Today, Scotiabank proudly presented the longlist of nominees for the 2017 Scotiabank Photography Award.

The winner of the Scotiabank Photography Award will receive a cash prize of $50,000, a solo exhibition at the Ryerson Image Centre, a primary exhibition at the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, and a book of their work published and distributed worldwide by art book publisher, Steidl of Germany.

"I'd like to express my appreciation to the Award Nominators for their time and deliberations in providing us with their longlist of artists to be considered for this year's award" said Edward Burtynsky, Chair of the Scotiabank Photography Award jury. "All the candidates have longstanding active careers, and have made significant contributions to Canadian art culture." Co-founded in 2010 by Scotiabank and Edward Burtynsky, the Scotiabank Photography Award recognizes outstanding Canadian photo-based artists who have made a significant contribution to the arts in Canada. The award provides support to a mid to later career artist as he or she reaches for the next level of national and international recognition.

"At Scotiabank, we know the arts enrich our lives and communities, and inspire Canadians to pursue their passions," said Barbara Mason, Group Head and Chief Human Resources Officer at Scotiabank. "The Scotiabank Photography Award is one way that we proudly celebrate the creative vision and significant contributions of our country's most gifted photographers."

In celebration of Canada's 150^th birthday, Scotiabank underscored its commitment to photography, with a $10 million donation to the National Gallery of Canada  as the Founding Partner of the Canadian Photography Institute.  This donation is the largest in the Bank's history. Scotiabank's sponsorship of the arts also includes the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, to name a few.

The nominees for the 7^th annual Scotiabank Photography Award are:

• Vikky Alexander, Vancouver, British Columbia
• Raymonde April, Montréal, Québec
• Barbara Astman, Toronto, Ontario
• Valérie Blass, Montréal, Québec
• Dana Claxton, Vancouver, British Columbia
• Marlene Creates, Portugal Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Donigan Cumming, Montréal, Québec
• Nancy Davenport, Vancouver, British Columbia
• Rosalie Favell, Ottawa, Ontario
• Shelley Niro, Brantford, Ontario
• Jeff Thomas, Ottawa, Ontario

The longlist represents Canadian photographic artists chosen by an eminent panel of nominators:

• Daina Augaitis, Chief Curator/Associate Director, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
• Mireille Eagan, Curator of Contemporary Art at The Rooms, St. John's, NL
• Heather Igloliorte, Assistant Professor and Concordia University Research Chair in Indigenous Art History and Community Engagement and independent curator of Indigenous art, Ottawa, ON
• Ken Lum, Professor and Chair of the Department of Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
• Patrick Mahon, Artist, Writer/Curator and Professor of Visual Arts at Western University, London, ON
• Wanda Nanibush, Assistant Curator, Canadian and Indigenous art, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON
• Jenifer Papararo, Executive Director , Plug Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg, MB
• Brenda Francis Pelkey, Professor, School of Creative Arts, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON
• Jonathan Shaughnessy, Associate Curator, Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON
• Liz Wylie, Curator Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna, BC
• John Zeppetelli, Director and Chief Curator, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Montréal , QC

The Scotiabank Photography Award Jury is composed of pre-eminent members of the Canadian arts community.  The members of the 2017 jury are:

• Edward Burtynsky, Jury Chair, Artist
• Robert Enright, Professor and University Research Chair in Art Theory and Criticism, University of Guelph, Ontario, and Senior Contributing Editor Border Crossings Magazine, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
• Marie Josée Jean, Executive and Artistic Director, VOX centre de l'image contemporaine
• Mark Lewis, Artist

For more information about the Award, please visit www.scotiabank.com/photoaward

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and Asia-Pacific. We are dedicated to helping our 23 million customers become better off through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than 88,000 employees and assets of $896 billion (as at October 31, 2016), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

SOURCE Scotiabank

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