Happy Spring!
The swans have returned, marking the arrival of spring in the Yukon!
We may have missed most of the solar eclipse up here, but the wonderful light and long days are truly energizing.
We are hard at work on plans for the next Yukon Prize and will have some exciting announcements in the next newsletter.
In the meantime – save the date – the next Yukon Prize celebrations will be October 3-4, 2025. The final deadline for artists to apply is November 15 at 5 pm YT.
Image c/o Julie Jai
Possible Yukon Prize Gala Renaming. Have your Voice Heard!
We want to hear from you! After hearing feedback about the naming of the Yukon Prize Gala, we have decided to leave the renaming up to the public by conducting the following poll: Would you more likely come to the Yukon Prize Gala if it were renamed? Which do you like best? a) Yukon Prize Gala b) Yukon Prize: Great Big Party c) Yukon Prize Celebration Let your voice be heard! Vote now here: https://pollforall.com/plwd44ow The poll will close on April 25 at 11:59 PM YT. Please keep voting to one vote per person.Alumni News
2023 Yukon Prize Recipient Kaylyn Baker was invited to participate in the Australian Fashion Show in Melbourne, Australia, at Global Indigenous Runway’s Ancestral Bloodlines Fashion Show, which was part of the PayPal Fashion Festival! This event celebrated inclusivity, empowerment, and artistic expression like never before on Australian Runways!
Here is just one of Kaylyn’s amazing designs for the show; the rest can be seen here!
Image c/o Kaylyn’s Instagram
2023 Juror Michelle Jacques won the 2024 Governor General’s Award for Outstanding contribution as a Curator. Her innovative work has been backed by her creative thinking skills, which have been described as “She thinks globally, contextually, and multi-disciplinarily, always embedded in the local and the current with the long view of entangled histories” -CCA, 2024
Michelle is pictured here with fellow jurors Heather Igloliorte and Sarah Milroy and Minister John Streicker.
Image c/o The Yukon Prize
2021 Yukon Prize Recipient Joseph Tisiga was in the juried show Northern Exposure organized by the Canadian Consulate General for LA Art Week. The show featured his series The Benevolence of Nomadic Ancestors: 3 Masks, 3 Maps, 2 Camps.
All three pieces and the entire show can be seen here.
Image c/o Joseph Tisiga
2021 Finalist Krystle Silverfox‘s work has been featured in the Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art’s new exhibition, Prevailing Landscapes. The exhibition challenges our imaginings of the great Canadian wilderness and will be displayed from April 12 to June 22 in North Vancouver. Learn more.
Krystle’s work for the exhibition is from her collection “connections.”
Additionally, in March, Krystle co-led a collaborative art event depicting Wild Fires in Whitehorse at the KDCC. Learn more about the extraordinary event!
Image c/o Krystle’s Instagram
↓ 2021 Finalist Sho Sho Esquiro was featured in Straight.com’s article highlighting “Indigenous fashion designers in BC who you need to know”
Image c/o ShoSho’s Instagram
↓ 2023 Finalist Cole Pauls was featured in The Bill Reid Gallery’s #ArtistSpotlight. He is currently one of the artists featured in the XIÁM exhibition, on view until May 19, 2024.
↓ 2023 Longlisted Artist Jackie Olson will have a show of her new work at the ODD Gallery in Dawson June 21 – July 28 featuring a new yet to be shown collection!
In the meantime, enjoy Jackie’s Yukon Prize submission Woven Thoughts
Image c/o Jackie Olson
↓ 2021 Yukon Prize juror Gaëtane Verna had the honour of curating Canada’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale, which features artist Kapwani Kiwanga.
The exhibition, Kapwani Kiwanga: Trinket, opened on April 16 in Venice and will continue until the end of the Venice Biennale on November 24.
Gaëtane Verna (Left) and Kapwani Kiwanga
← Image c/o The Bill Reid Gallery
Put Yourself in the Picture
To make a charitable donation online to support Yukon art and artists through the Yukon Prize, please donate through our partner, the Yukon Arts Foundation, via Canada Helps.
Where you see the heading: “Apply your donation to a specific fund set up by this charity” select “Yukon Prize for Visual Arts” from the drop down menu.
You will receive a charitable donation receipt immediately by email from Canada Helps, identifying your support for the Yukon Prize for Visual Arts.