Eleven nominees have been announced for the 2015 Scotiabank Photography Award. The award winner will receive a $50,000 prize, a major solo exhibition at the Ryerson Image Centre and have a book of their work published and distributed by Steidl of Germany.
This year, for the first time, the two finalists will receive $10,000 each—an increase from the previous award of $5,000.
The nominees on the 2015 longlist are: Benoit Aquin of Montreal, Quebec; Dianne Bos of Calgary, Alberta; Jim Breukelman of Vancouver, British Columbia; Rafael Goldchain of Toronto, Ontario; Angela Grauerholz of Montreal, Quebec; Isabelle Hayeur of Rawdon, Quebec; Emmanuelle Léonard of Montreal, Quebec; Laura Letinsky of Chicago, Illinois; Graeme Patterson of Sackville, New Brunswick; Gabor Szilasi of Montreal, Quebec; and Robert Walker of Montreal, Quebec.
Artists from across Canada were nominated for the SPA by 11 art experts, including Diane Charbonneau, curator at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal; Blake Fitzpatrick, professor in the School of Image Arts at Ryerson University; Gemey Kelly, director-curator at Owens Art Gallery in Sackville, New Brunswick; and William Ewing, director of curatorial projects at Thames and Hudson.
The shortlist will be announced in March, and the winner will be announced in May.
Last year’s winner was Mark Ruwedel, and previous SPA winners include Stan Douglas, Arnaud Maggs and Lynne Cohen.
