Artist and ECU faculty member Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill is one of five finalists shortlisted for the 2023 Sobey Art Award.

Artists Kablusiak, Michèle Pearson Clarke, Séamus Gallagher and Anahita Norouzi round out the shortlist for the prestigious prize, which “celebrates the best in contemporary art in Canada.”

“Living and working on the unceded territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh peoples, Métis artist Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill works primarily in sculpture, painting and installation,” reads Gabrielle’s bio. “Using locally found objects and natural materials, she probes themes such as the history of colonization, capitalism and land ownership. Her latest work, M*****, currently on view at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver, explores kinship. She has exhibited extensively, at national and international venues, including at the Vancouver Art Gallery, the 2022 Venice Biennale and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.”

The Sobey Art Award is presented annually to a visual artist who has exhibited in a public or commercial art gallery within 18 months of being nominated. Twenty-five artists representing five regions across the country are chosen annually for a longlist. This year, artist and ECU faculty member Christine Sandoval Howard was also nominated to the 2023 West Coast and Yukon region longlist.

Five longlisted artists are selected by jury for inclusion in the Sobey shortlist. Each shortlisted artist receives $25,000. They will also have their work included in an exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada, on view from October 13, 2023, until March 3, 2024.

Each of the remaining 20 long-listed artists receives $10,000. The overall winner of the award will be announced in November and awarded a grand prize of $100,000.

See Gabrielle’s work in person through Sept. 3 at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver.

Visit the National Gallery’s website to learn more about the Sobey Art Award.

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Visit ECU online to learn more about studying Visual Art at Emily Carr.