2023 Finalists
The 2023 Yukon Prize Finalists were selected by an independent jury of three arts professionals: Heather Iglorliorte, (Inuk-Newfoundlander, Nunatsiavut), the University Research Chair in Circumpolar Indigenous Arts at Concordia University in Tiohtiá:ke/ MontrealGaëtane, Michelle Jacques, chief curator at Remai Modern in Saskatoon
and Sarah Milroy, chief curator of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario. We are grateful for the time and care that they devoted to the selection process. Congratulations to the 2023 Yukon Prize Finalists! We thank all of the talented Yukon artists who applied for the 2023 Yukon Prize.
Kaylyn Baker
Jeffrey Langille
Rebekah Miller
Cole Pauls
Omar Reyna
Alainnah Whachell
2023 Jurors
Three outstanding Canadian arts professionals served as jurors for this competition.
Dr. Heather Igloliorte (Inuk-Newfoundlander, Nunatsiavut), is the University Research Chair in Circumpolar Indigenous Arts at Concordia University in Tiohtiá:ke/ Montreal, where she leads the Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership SSHRC Partnership Grant and Co-Directs the Indigenous Futures Research Centre. Igloliorte has been a curator for seventeen years; among many projects, she is the lead guest curator for INUA, the inaugural exhibition of the new Inuit art centre, Qaumajuq, in Winnipeg. Igloliorte also serves as the Co-Chair of the Indigenous Circle for the Winnipeg Art Gallery; is President of the Board of the Inuit Art Foundation; and sits on the Faculty Council of the Otsego Institute for Native American Art History at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York.
Michelle Jacques is a curator, educator, and cultural worker. She is currently the Head of Exhibitions and Collections/Chief Curator at Remai Modern, which is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of Métis, in the city also known as Saskatoon. Prior to moving to the Prairies, she was the Chief Curator at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria in British Columbia for 8 years; before that, she held curatorial positions in the contemporary and Canadian departments at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. Her long-term commitment is to growing the relevance of visual art museums, but she has also worked as the Director of Programming at the Centre for Art Tapes, an artist-run centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and taught writing, art history and curatorial studies at NSCAD University, the University of Toronto Mississauga, and OCAD University.
Sarah Milroy is the chief curator of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario. She has curated or co-curated major exhibitions on Emily Carr, David Milne, Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald, Denyse Thomasos, Dempsey Bob, Gathie Falk, and Wanda Koop. Milroy previously served as art critic of the Globe and Mail (2001 to 2011), and as editor and publisher of Canadian Art (1991 to 1996).