The winners of the seventh annual Open Studio National Printmaking Awards were announced May 22 at the Palais Royale in Toronto.
The top rankings all went to artists with connections to Atlantic Canada. First prize of $3,000 went to Dan Steeves of Sackville, New Brunswick. Second prize of $1,500 went to Doug Guildford of Toronto, Ontario, and Voglers Cove, Nova Scotia. And third prize of $500 went to Dan O’Neill of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Artists Elizabeth D’Agostino, Kurt Pammer and Laura Widmer were also recognized with honourable mentions.
Steeves is printmaking technician/lecturer in the Fine Arts Department at Mount Allison University and was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 2011.
Doug Guildford is a multidisciplinary artist also known for large crocheted sculptures; frequently, his works address the natural world. Guildford was also first-prize winner in the 1999 Ernst & Young Great Canadian Printmaking Competition and an honourable mention in the 2002 Great Canadian Printmaking Competition.
Dan O’Neill works in the printmaking department at NSCAD University. He has collaborated in litho projects, printing for John Greer, Michael Fernandes, and (in 2005) for Claes Oldenburg on behalf of the NSCAD University Press.
The award-winning prints were selected by a jury including Darren Alexander of Tatar Alexander Public Art Management, Pat Feheley of Feheley Fine Arts, and David Kaye of David Kaye Gallery.
The Open Studio National Printmaking Awards were launched in 2008 to recognize and reward excellence in the Canadian printmaking community. They are open to all printmakers in Canada and Canadian printmakers working worldwide. Open Studio is an artist-run, Toronto-based charitable organization that provides professional development opportunities for artists and promotes contemporary, original fine art prints.
