Creemore’s Peter Adams is among 52 artists from across Canada selected as finalists for the inaugural Salt Spring National Art Prize.
“There aren’t many competitions in Canada that offer the kind of exposure that the Salt Spring National Art Prize can offer to Canadian artists. So it is indeed an honour to be chosen as a finalist for this prize,” said Adams.
Adams submitted a painting entitled Earth Scars #12: Mirny Diamond Mine (above), which depicts a massive open-pit mine in Siberia. He said the impetus for this series was much closer to home.
“When the proposed Melancthon Mega Quarry was on everyone’s mind several years ago, I began to research and paint some of the largest holes in the earth. The series has since featured mines in Russia, Africa, South America, the US and northern Canada.”
The piece will be part of a month-long exhibition of the finalists’ work in Salt Spring Island, British Columbia beginning Sept. 26.
The finalist will receive a $25,000 cash prize.
“For our first finalist exhibition we are extremely pleased with the number and quality of work submitted by artists from across the country,” said Salt Spring National Art Prize founding director Ronald T. Crawford. “The work chosen from over 800 artists and 1,367 works, successfully reflects our goals of showing the strength and diversity of Canadian visual arts while encouraging dialogue and exposure for the 52 featured artists. The jury selected works blind to any geographical, cultural or gender information; this has given us an amazing cross section of works for our exhibition. I congratulate the finalists and applaud the decisions made by our jury.”
In addition to the money, officials say the finalists have an opportunity to elevate their careers by gleaning exposure and valuable industry recognition. The inaugural Salt Spring National Art Prize has a mandate of encouraging artists whose work demonstrates a visual impact and a depth of meaning.
Jurors are artists and art instructors Holger Kalberg, of Winnipeg, Ian Thomas, of Salt Spring Island, and curator Vicky Chainey Gagnon, of St. John’s.