Supporting the careers of talented Canadian artists, aged 35 and under, working behind the camera
Meet this year's winners and discover their works
OTTAWA, ON, Sept. 20, 2023 /CNW/ - Until January 7, 2024, the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) presents works by the three winners of the 2023 Scotiabank New Generation Photography (NGPA): Hannah Doucet, Wynne Neilly, and Gonzalo Reyes Rodriguez in an exhibition organized by the NGC in partnership with Scotiabank and the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. Through videographic and photographic works, the three artists explore the many challenges in contemporary representations of the body, identity, culture, and history. The works on display were produced between 2019 and 2023.
The public is invited to discover the exhibition in the company of the three artists during a special edition of the Gallery's free Thursday evenings, this Thursday 21 September from 6 to 7 p.m. EDT in the exhibition space C218. To take part and visit the Gallery for free between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. EDT, simply book your ticket online. The presentation of the exhibition and Meet the artists are supported by the Scotiabank Photography Program at the NGC.
"The National Gallery of Canada is delighted to celebrate the vision of talented artists at the beginning of their careers. We are grateful to our colleagues across Canada who have nominated artists whose work deserves to be known. Our partnership with Scotiabank and the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival plays an important role in giving impetus to younger generations of artists from communities from coast to coast," said Jean-François Bélisle, NGC Director and CEO.
"With great visual sophistication, care and curiosity, the 2023 Scotiabank NGPA winners demonstrate the continued power and significance of lens-based images to both probe shared concerns and anxieties and offer new insights into negotiating an image-saturated culture," said Andrea Kunard, Senior Curator, NGC Photographs Collection, NGPA Jury Chair, and curator of the exhibition.
Winnipeg-born Toronto artist Hannah Doucet explores how society deals with childhood illness by invoking fantasy and wish fulfilment. Through images, videos and an installation, she revisits her wish trip to Disney World at the age of 10 after two years of treatment for lymphoblastic lymphoma. In her brightly coloured, saturated work, featuring friendly mascots and motifs borrowed from children's animation, Doucet draws critical attention to the corporate messaging conveyed to children about illness and its focus on living life "happily ever after".
The intimate portraits presented by Toronto-based queer artist Wynne Neilly pay homage to his queer and trans subjects and highlight the strength of the 'chosen family'. Each of the large-format portraits is presented alongside a photograph of a natural or urban landscape that, like his portraits, underscores Neilly's meditative approach to image-making.
Vancouver artist Gonzalo Reyes Rodriguez is interested in the shifting meaning of the photographic image as it passes through different times and contexts. The works exhibited here originate from a box of photographs by an unknown photographer taken between 1987 and 1993, which he bought in a Mexican bookstore. Rodriguez combines these photographs with images from his personal archive. The installation includes a video work featuring two of the artist's colleagues who examine the photographs looking for clues that would allow them to define the unknown person depicted.
Launched in 2017, the Scotiabank PNGP was created in partnership with Scotiabank and rewards outstanding work by Canadian artists aged 35 and under working in the photographic arts.
About the National Gallery of Canada
Ankosé: Everything is Connected / Tout est relié
The NGC is dedicated to amplifying voices through art and extending the reach and breadth of its collection, exhibitions program, and public activities to represent all Canadians, while centring Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Ankosé—an Anishinaabemowin word that means "everything is connected"—reflects the Gallery's mission to create dynamic experiences that open hearts and minds, and allow for new ways of seeing ourselves, one another, and our diverse histories, through the visual arts. The NGC is home to a rich contemporary Indigenous international art collection, as well as important collections of historical and contemporary Canadian and European art from the 14th to the 21st century. Founded in 1880, the NGC has played a key role in Canadian culture for more than 140 years.
To find out more about the Gallery's programming and activities, visit gallery.ca and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. #Ankose #EverythingIsConnected #ToutEstRelié.
About the Scotiabank Photography Program at the NGC
The Scotiabank Photography Program at the National Gallery of Canada embraces digital content creation, education, exhibitions, the NGC initiatives Leading with Women, and Scotiabank New Generation Photography Award. The National Gallery of Canada's photography collection is one of the world's most comprehensive holdings of photographs and related materials. It represents the entire history of the medium, revealing and reinterpreting the most important stories of our past, present and future.
About the National Gallery of Canada Foundation
The National Gallery of Canada Foundation is dedicated to supporting the National Gallery of Canada in fulfilling its mandate. By fostering strong philanthropic partnerships, the Foundation provides the Gallery with the additional financial support required to lead Canada's visual arts community locally, nationally and internationally. The blend of public support and private philanthropy empowers the Gallery to preserve and interpret Canada's visual arts heritage. The Foundation welcomes present and deferred gifts for special projects and endowments. To learn more about the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, visit ngcfoundation.ca.
SOURCE National Gallery of Canada
For media use only-- For more information, to book an interview, or obtain images, please contact: Josée-Britanie Mallet, Senior Officer, Media and Public Relations, National Gallery of Canada, [email protected]
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