{"id":268828,"date":"2020-09-16T04:16:56","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T08:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=268828"},"modified":"2020-09-16T04:16:56","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T08:16:56","slug":"bmo-1st-art-returns-to-celebrate-canadian-artists-in-its-first-ever-virtual-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/09\/16\/bmo-1st-art-returns-to-celebrate-canadian-artists-in-its-first-ever-virtual-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"BMO 1st Art! Returns to Celebrate Canadian Artists in its First Ever Virtual Exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1\">\n<ul>\n<li><i>BMO Financial Group announces one national winner and 12 regional winners for its annual BMO 1<sup>st<\/sup>\u00a0Art! competition<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i><span class=\"xn-money\">$15,000<\/span>\u00a0is awarded to the national winner;\u00a0<span class=\"xn-money\">$7,500<\/span>\u00a0is awarded to each regional winner<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>All selected works will be showcased in a virtual exhibition hosted by The Art Museum at the\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">University of Toronto<\/span>\u00a0from\u00a0<span class=\"xn-chron\">September 15 to October 16<\/span>\u00a0at artmuseum.utoronto.ca<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"xn-location\">TORONTO<\/span>,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-chron\">Sept. 15, 2020<\/span>\u00a0\/CNW\/ &#8211; BMO Financial Group today announced the winners of its 18<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0annual BMO 1st Art!\u00a0competition\u00a0celebrating outstanding achievements in visual arts among undergraduate artists from coast to coast.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1\">\n<div class=\"gallery inline-carousel\">\n<div class=\"gallery-carousel-main\">\n<div class=\"gallery-cell\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"image lightbox-item \" data-src=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/1273879\/BMO_Financial_Group_BMO_1st_Art__Returns_to_Celebrate_Canadian_A.jpg?p=publish\" data-asset-type=\"photo\" data-tweet-text=\"National Winner, It Matters by Simone Elizabeth Saunders, Alberta University of the Arts (CNW Group\/BMO Financial Group)\" data-asset-label=\"General\" data-twitter-share-url=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/1273879\/BMO_Financial_Group_BMO_1st_Art__Returns_to_Celebrate_Canadian_A.jpg?p=twitter\" data-facebook-share-text=\"National Winner, It Matters by Simone Elizabeth Saunders, Alberta University of the Arts (CNW Group\/BMO Financial Group)\" data-facebook-share-url=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/1273879\/BMO_Financial_Group_BMO_1st_Art__Returns_to_Celebrate_Canadian_A.jpg?p=facebook\" data-linkedin-text=\"National Winner, It Matters by Simone Elizabeth Saunders, Alberta University of the Arts (CNW Group\/BMO Financial Group)\" data-linkedin-share-url=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/1273879\/BMO_Financial_Group_BMO_1st_Art__Returns_to_Celebrate_Canadian_A.jpg?p=linkedin\" data-social-source=\"PR Newswire\" data-download-url=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/1273879\/BMO_Financial_Group_BMO_1st_Art__Returns_to_Celebrate_Canadian_A.jpg?p=publish\" data-sub-html=\"National Winner, It Matters by Simone Elizabeth Saunders, Alberta University of the Arts (CNW Group\/BMO Financial Group)\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive carousel-item\" src=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/1273879\/BMO_Financial_Group_BMO_1st_Art__Returns_to_Celebrate_Canadian_A.jpg?p=publish&amp;w=950\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div><figcaption>National Winner, It Matters by Simone Elizabeth Saunders, Alberta University of the Arts (CNW Group\/BMO Financial Group)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1\">\n<p>In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and for the safety of its artists and patrons, BMO 1st Art! is taking its annual gallery exhibition virtual. Hosted by the Art Museum at the\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">University of Toronto<\/span>\u00a0on their Virtual Art Museum site artmuseum.utoronto.ca, the exhibition will showcase all 13 winning works from\u00a0<span class=\"xn-chron\">September 15 to October 16<\/span>. The award recipients will receive cash prizes of\u00a0<span class=\"xn-money\">$15,000<\/span>\u00a0for the national award and\u00a0<span class=\"xn-money\">$7,500<\/span>\u00a0for each regional winner, spanning\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Canada&#8217;s<\/span>\u00a0diverse provinces and territories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1\">\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a privilege to honour the inventive and complex work of\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Canada&#8217;s<\/span>\u00a0top post-secondary students, a generation that represents the future of art in\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Canada<\/span>,&#8221; said\u00a0Cameron Fowler, Chief Strategy and Operations Officer, BMO Financial Group. &#8220;BMO is committed to supporting the creativity and talent of our rising artists and we&#8217;re proud to be part of this distinguished initiative. Congratulations to the 2020 winners on all of their accomplishments.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are thrilled to spotlight these remarkable artists as they transition from art school to art practice,&#8221; said\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Dawn Cain<\/span>, Curator, BMO Art Collection. &#8220;In moving the exhibition to a virtual format we are able to share these innovative and timely works with new audiences in\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Canada<\/span>\u00a0and beyond.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The annual competition invites deans and instructors from 110 undergraduate art programs across\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Canada<\/span>\u00a0to nominate three students from each of their studio specialties to submit a recent work. An esteemed panel of jurors selected this year&#8217;s winning works from a pool of 295 submissions. Submission guidelines allow for time-based media including video, film, audio, and computer technologies, in addition to mediums of drawing, printmaking, photography, painting, sculpture, glass, ceramics, textiles, mixed media, and installation works.<\/p>\n<p>Full list of 2020 BMO 1st Art! winners:<\/p>\n<p><b><u>National Winner<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Simone Elizabeth Saunders<\/span>, &#8220;<i>It Matters<\/i>&#8220;,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Alberta<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">University of the Arts<\/span>\u00a0(<span class=\"xn-location\">Alberta<\/span>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><u>Regional Winners<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Jasmine MacGregor<\/span>, &#8220;<i>Anishinaabekwe (Ojibway woman)<\/i>&#8220;,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Alberta<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">University of the Arts<\/span>\u00a0(<span class=\"xn-location\">Alberta<\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">David Ezra Wang<\/span>, &#8220;<i>Practicum<\/i>&#8220;,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">University of British Columbia<\/span>\u00a0(<span class=\"xn-location\">British Columbia<\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Gabriel Roberts<\/span>, &#8220;<i>A Closet Painted Blue<\/i>&#8220;,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">University of Manitoba<\/span>\u00a0(<span class=\"xn-location\">Manitoba<\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Matthew Cripps<\/span>, &#8220;<i>4 Crawling Vases<\/i>&#8220;,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">New Brunswick<\/span>\u00a0College of Craft and Design (<span class=\"xn-location\">New Brunswick<\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Kathleen Elliott<\/span>, &#8220;<i>Well Seasoned<\/i>&#8220;,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Grenfell Campus<\/span>,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Memorial University of Newfoundland<\/span>\u00a0(<span class=\"xn-location\">Newfoundland<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Labrador<\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Alex Sutcliffe<\/span>, &#8220;<i>A Finger Cuts Light<\/i>&#8220;, NSCAD University (<span class=\"xn-location\">Nova Scotia<\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Ellie Tungilik<\/span>, &#8220;<i>Finding Hope<\/i>&#8220;, Nunavut Arctic College (<span class=\"xn-location\">Nunavut<\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Tian Cao<\/span>, &#8220;<i>2020 Surfing the Internet<\/i>&#8220;, OCAD University (<span class=\"xn-location\">Ontario<\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Duncan Brooks<\/span>, &#8220;<i>Empty Steps<\/i>&#8220;,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Holland<\/span>\u00a0College (<span class=\"xn-location\">Prince Edward Island<\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Mikael Lepage<\/span>, &#8220;<i>D\u00e9nu\u00e9<\/i>&#8220;, Universit\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec \u00e0 Montr\u00e9al (<span class=\"xn-location\">Quebec<\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Rey Francis Dominic B. Tatad<\/span>, &#8220;<i>Chosen Land<\/i>&#8220;,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">University of Regina<\/span>\u00a0(<span class=\"xn-location\">Saskatchewan<\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Nicole Favron<\/span>, &#8220;<i>5.5 hours of shovelling so I can walk in the path of a moose<\/i>&#8220;, Yukon School of Visual Arts (<span class=\"xn-location\">Yukon<\/span>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Highlighted works include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;A hand-tufted textile portrait of a Black civilian in western society during the COVID-19 pandemic. This colourful patchwork focuses on the quality and importance of Black life (matters) in a time where the pandemic has eradicated social normativity, further isolating marginalized communities and resulting in amplified racial biases toward Black and\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Brown<\/span>\u00a0people.&#8221; (<span class=\"xn-person\">Simone Elizabeth Saunders<\/span>, National winner)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Inspired by the artist&#8217;s observation of &#8216;poor images&#8217; on the internet including static memes, low-resolution short videos, tawdry commercial images and manipulated self-images, this interactive 3D project, created using the game engine Unity, explores issues of accessibility, democracy, mass reproduction, culture conflict, self-identity and consumerism.&#8221; (<span class=\"xn-person\">Tian Cao<\/span>,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Ontario<\/span>\u00a0winner)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;An oil on canvas portrait of a man dressed in a white shirt; symbolizing masculinity and social class. Going against all conventions the artist has turned the shirt backwards and wrinkled it, offering the viewer more questions than answers.&#8221; (Mikael Lepage,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Quebec<\/span>\u00a0winner)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;This mixed-media installation featuring cyanotypes on paper, linen, denim and cushions is a contemplative exploration into the artist&#8217;s own sexuality within the constraints of a closeted relationship.&#8221; (<span class=\"xn-person\">Gabriel Roberts<\/span>,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Manitoba<\/span>\u00a0winner)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>The 2020 Selection Committee:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Melanie Colosimo<\/span>, Director\/Curator, Anna Leonowens Gallery, NS<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"xn-person\">Francisco-Fernando Granados<\/span>, Faculty of Art, OCAD University, ON<\/li>\n<li>Marie-Eve Beaupr\u00e9, Curator, Mus\u00e9e d&#8217;art contemporain de Montr\u00e9al, QC<\/li>\n<li>cheyanne turions, Curator SFU Galleries, BC<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>To view images of the winning works on BMO Financial Group&#8217;s website, please visit:<\/b>\u00a0<u><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=2916618-1&amp;h=3012671492&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2F1start.bmo.com%2F&amp;a=1stArt.bmo.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">1stArt.bmo.com<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n<p><b>To access the virtual exhibition please visit:\u00a0<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=2916618-1&amp;h=294969467&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fartmuseum.utoronto.ca%2F&amp;a=artmuseum.utoronto.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">artmuseum.utoronto.ca<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BMO Financial Group announces one national winner and 12 regional winners for its annual BMO 1st\u00a0Art! competition $15,000\u00a0is awarded to &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":268829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-268828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-art-and-culture","mauthors-bmo-financial-group","mauthors-cision-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":268830,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268828\/revisions\/268830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}