Three up-and-coming Canadian artists will receive $10,000 apiece and exposure as the winners of this year’s New Generation Photography Award.
Dustin Brons of Vancouver; Chris Donovan of Saint John, N.B.; and Dainesha Nugent-Palache of Brampton, Ont., took the prize on Tuesday.
Founded by Scotiabank and the National Gallery of Canada, the New Generation Photography Award aims to elevate the careers of Canadians aged 35 and under who work in lens-based art.
Jurors applauded Nugent-Palache for her “painterly” portraits of women, while Donovan received plaudits for rooting his work in the history of documentary photography.
Brons earned praise for drawing from sources ranging from Instagram to real estate agent ads to reframe the way we read images.
In addition to the cash prize, the 2021 winners will have their work featured in two group exhibitions alongside last year’s award recipients.
An outdoor exhibition is set to be held at Ryerson University in Toronto as part of the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival from April 30 to Oct. 3.
Another show has been scheduled at Ottawa’s National Gallery of Canada this fall, COVID-19 restrictions permitting.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2021.
The Canadian Press