TORONTO, June 24, 2020 /CNW/ - Dana Claxton of Vancouver, BC is the winner of the 10^th annual Scotiabank Photography Award.

As winner of the prestigious Scotiabank Photography Award, Dana will receive a $50,000 cash prize, a solo Primary Exhibition during the 2021 Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, and a book of her work will be published and distributed worldwide by renowned art book publisher, Steidl.

"Congratulations to Dana Claxton, whose work shows the powerful way that photography helps people connect with a moment in time," says Barb Mason, Chief Human Resources Officer, Scotiabank. "Scotiabank knows that the arts make Canadians richer, exposing us to new ideas and allowing us to see the world through a different lens, which provides us with inspiration to pursue our own passions. For the past decade, we have been proud to play a role in celebrating the creative vision and accomplishments of our country's most gifted photographers and during these challenging times, the gift of the arts is its ability to uplift, educate and unite us in new ways."

The Scotiabank Photography Award recognizes the achievements of established mid-to-late career artists, engaging Canadians with photographic art and raising awareness through art to engage the public with the issues and forces of our time. It was co-founded by Scotiabank and Canadian photographer, Edward Burtynsky with the goal of recognizing established mid-to-late career photo-based artists and accelerating their careers as they reach the next level of national and international recognition.

"We're incredibly proud to recognize Dana Claxton as the 2020 Scotiabank Photography Award winner. Her work is powerful, honest and evocative, and she approaches it with an innovative aesthetic that lends itself brilliantly to every medium she practices in – photography, in particular," says Edward Burtynsky, co-founder of the Scotiabank Photography Award and Chair of the jury. "It will be a pleasure to see Dana present a solo exhibition at next year's Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival and create a beautiful book of her work."

Emmanuelle Léonard of Montreal, Quebec and Jin-me Yoon of Vancouver, BC were also finalists for the 2020 Award and will each receive cash prizes of $10,000. The 2020 Scotiabank Photography Award Nominees represent the result of an annual Canada-wide search for excellence. The Scotiabank Photography Award is peer-reviewed at every stage of the nomination and adjudication process and nominees must meet eligibility criteria.

The 2020 Scotiabank Photography Award jury includes:

• Edward Burtynsky, Artist, Jury chair
• Sophie Hackett, Curator, Photography at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)
• Candice Hopkins, Writer and Curator
• Brian Sholis, Editor, Curator/Writer

The Primary Exhibition of 2019 Scotiabank Photography Award winner, Stephen Waddell has been postponed until Fall 2020 the Ryerson Image Centre. Please visit ryersonimagecentre.ca for updated exhibition information.

For more information about the Scotiabank Photography Award, please visit the website at www.scotiabank.com/photoaward.

About Scotiabank
Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future," we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success 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 approximately 97,000 employees and assets of over $1.2 trillion (as at April 30, 2020), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

SOURCE Scotiabank