2020 New Generation Award winners announced

GaryPageau

Scotiabank and the National Gallery of Canada announced the winners of the third annual New Generation Photography Award, which recognizes the best of young Canadians working in lens-based art and aims to elevate their careers. The New Generation Photography Award is the only one of its kind, dedicated to Canadian artists 35 years of age and under, and specific to lens-based art.

The winners for the 2020 edition are:

Noah Friebel – Vancouver, BC

Noah Friebel, one of three winners of the New Generation Photography Award.

Vancouver based Noah Friebel focuses on the fabricated aspect of the photograph, using elements of sculpture and installation to examine our relationship to images, each other, and the narrowing space in between. Since graduating from Emily Carr University with a BFA in 2018, Friebel has been part of several group shows: notably Green Glass Door at Trapp Projects and The Lind Prize 2018 at Polygon Gallery. He had a solo show at Republic Gallery in April 2020.

Curtiss Randolph – Toronto, ON

Curtiss Randolph, one of three winners of the New Generation Photography Award.

Toronto born Curtiss Randolph constructs scenes as either tableau or staged documentary narratives. Having grown up in a theatre family, the elements of stage production crept into his working process at an early stage. Mixing realism, surrealism, and gonzo journalism, Randolph challenges viewers’ preconceived notion of documentary style as a way to question ideas of fact and fiction in the photographic medium. Semi-autobiographical storytelling has taken the lead role in Curtiss’ work. Artist’s such as Moya Garrison, Stan Douglas, Park Chan-wook, and Jim Jarmusch all offer inspiration for Curtiss’ creative process.

Katherine Takpannie – Ottawa, ON

Katherine Takpannie, one of three winners of the New Generation Photography Award.

Katherine Takpannie is an Ottawa-based Inuk artist, writer and graduate of the Nunavut Sivuniksavut (NS) program. Her photographs set performative and political gestures against both natural and built environments, including intimate portraits of women. Her work is held in the City of Ottawa’s art collection and has appeared in Getting Under Our Skin exhibition at the Art Gallery of Guelph and They Forgot We Were Seeds exhibition at the Carleton University Art Gallery.

“On behalf of Scotiabank, congratulations to Noah, Curtiss and Katherine,” said Mike Tasevski, Vice President Sponsorship, Global Sponsorship at Scotiabank. “Scotiabank has a long history and a deep passion for supporting arts, culture and young people and is proud to play a role in celebrating the creative vision and accomplishments of our country’s most promising new lens-based artists.”

The three winners will receive a cash prize of $10,000 along with the opportunity to be featured in two group exhibitions next year: one in Toronto during the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival in May, and the other at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa in October. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 and 2021 winners will present their works together at the group exhibitions. The 2021 longlist of nominated artists will be announced early next year, and the winners will be announced in April 2021. Award recipients will be mentored by the curatorial team at the National Gallery of Canada, and their work will be included in artist talks, exhibition tours, and educational programming.

The winners were selected by the following Members of the 2020 New Generation Photography Award jury:

  • Ann Thomas, Senior Curator, Photographs, National Gallery of Canada, and Chair of the Jury
  • Luther Konadu, Artist and past New Generation Photography Award winner (2019)
  • Andrea Kunard, Associate Curator, Photographs, National Gallery of Canada
  • Suzy Lake, Artist and past Scotiabank Photography Award winner (2016)
  • Alain Paiement, Artist and Professor at Université de Québec à Montréal