TORONTO, Dec. 4, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - The Art
Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and
Aimia are pleased to announce the winner of the 2017
Aimia | AGO Photography Prize. On the 10th
anniversary of Canada's most
significant award for photography, Hank
Willis Thomas was chosen by public vote to receive
C$50,000.
Runners-up Liz Johnson
Artur (Ghana/Russia), Raymond Boisjoly (Haida Nation/Canada) and Taisuke Koyama (Japan) will each receive $5,000 to support their photography
practices.
Developed through an innovative partnership between the AGO and
Aimia, a Montreal-based global
leader in data-driven marketing and loyalty analytics, the Aimia
| AGO Photography Prize is internationally renowned,
recognizing Canadian and international contemporary artists whose
work has exhibited extraordinary potential over the preceding five
years.
Hank Willis Thomas, of
the United States, is a
multidisciplinary contemporary African-American visual artist,
photographer and arts educator, working primarily with themes
related to identity, history and popular culture. He has exhibited
throughout the U.S. and internationally including the International
Center of Photography, Public Art Fund and The Guggenheim Museum
Bilbao. His work can be found in numerous public collections,
including the Museum of Modern Art in New
York and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Thomas'
monograph, Pitch Blackness, was published by Aperture in
2008. He received a MFA/MA in Photography and Visual Criticism from
the California College of Arts. Thomas
is represented by Jack Shainman
Gallery in New York City
and Goodman Gallery in South
Africa.
"On behalf of the AGO, I congratulate Hank Willis Thomas and all of the shortlisted
artists," said Stephan Jost,
the AGO's Michael and Sonja Koerner Director and CEO. "I also thank
the voters, who each took the time to vote for an artist whose work
spoke to them personally. Offering our public the opportunity to
deeply engage with art is core to our mission."
"Congratulations to Hank Willis
Thomas and all the shortlisted artists on their incredible
achievements and contributions to contemporary photography on an
international stage," said Vince Timpano, President, Coalitions,
Aimia. "Thank you for sharing with us your compelling visions and
ideas, and engaging us in new perspectives of the world we live
in."
The Aimia | AGO Photography Prize Exhibition,
featuring works by all four finalists, is on view now at the AGO
and remains open until January 14,
2018. It can also be viewed online at the Prize
website.
The shortlist for the Prize, announced on July 25, 2017, was selected by a jury headed by
Sophie Hackett, the AGO's
Curator of Photography and curator of this exhibition, and included
Ken Lum, artist, professor
and Chair of the Fine Arts Department at the University of Pennsylvania; and Eva Respini, the Barbara Lee Chief Curator
at the ICA/Boston.
In celebration of the 10th year of the Prize, a
commemorative publication has been produced, telling the story of
the Aimia | AGO Photography Prize over the past decade. The book
will showcase the extraordinary work of nominees of the Prize,
explore its scholarships and residencies, and celebrate the impact
the Prize has had over 10 years. The book is available now at
shopAGO.
ABOUT THE AIMIA | AGO PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE
Over the last 10 years, the Aimia | AGO Photography Prize
recognized and developed the best in Canadian and international
contemporary photography and helped to foster the next generation
of artists. The Prize has comprised an annual exhibition at the Art
Gallery of Ontario, an online
exhibition at AimiaAGOPhotographyPrize.com, a range of public
programming and a national scholarship program. It has included
awards of $50,000 to the winner,
$5,000 to each of the three
runners-up, $7,000 to each of three
scholarship winners and $1,000 to
each of their respective schools.
Previous winners of the Prize include German artist Ursula Schulz-Dornburg (2016), Americans
Dave Jordano (2015) and Lisa Oppenheim (2014), Canada's Erin
Shirreff (2013), Britain's
Jo Longhurst (2012), Gauri Gill of
India (2011), Canadian
Kristan Horton (2010), Marco Antonio Cruz of Mexico (2009) and Canadian Sarah Anne Johnson (2008).
For further details on the shortlisted artists and additional
information, please visit AimiaAGOPhotographyPrize.com and follow
@AimiaAGOPrize on Twitter.
ABOUT AIMIA
Aimia, a data-driven marketing and loyalty
analytics company, has adopted two fundamental principles of
loyalty, trust and reciprocity, as the pillars of its global social
purpose — to create mutually beneficial partnerships that leave a
lasting impact in our communities. As an enthusiastic patron of the
Arts, Aimia has supported many Canadian and International arts and
culture initiatives through donations, sponsorships and employee
volunteer activities. Aimia has supported several Canadian cultural
organizations including the Art Gallery of Ontario, Art Canada
Institute, Business for the Arts, Canadian Art Foundation, the
National Gallery of Canada, Luminato Festival and the Walrus
Foundation. Aimia is proud to engage in a dialogue around the arts
through the Aimia l AGO Photography Prize and scholarship program,
and through our office art installations
in Montreal and Toronto. Visit us
at www.aimia.com to learn more.
ABOUT THE AGO
Located in Toronto, Canada's
largest city of 6.5 million, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is one of the largest art
museums in North America. The
AGO's collection of close to 95,000 works ranges from cutting-edge
contemporary art such as Untilled by Pierre Huyghe to European masterpieces such as
Peter Paul Rubens's The
Massacre of The Innocents; from the vast collection by the
Group of Seven to works by established and emerging Indigenous
Canadian artists; with a photography collection that tracks the
impact of the medium with deep holdings of works by artists such as
Garry Winogrand and Diane Arbus; and
with focused collections in Gothic boxwood miniatures and Western
and Central African art. Drawing on this collection—as well as
collaborations with museums around the world—the AGO presents
wide-ranging exhibitions and programs, taking special care to
showcase diverse and underrepresented artists. A major expansion
designed by Frank Gehry in 2008 with
lead support from the family of Ken
Thomson makes the AGO a highly-photographed architectural
landmark. Visit ago.ca to learn more.
The Art Gallery of Ontario is
funded in part by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and
Sport. Additional operating support is received from the
City of Toronto, the Canada
Council for the Arts and generous contributions from AGO members,
donors and private-sector partners.
The AGO acknowledges the generous support of Aimia,
Signature Partner of the Photography Collection Program and
Founding Partner of the Aimia | AGO Photography Prize.
SOURCE AIMIA