March 2023 Newsletter

The Yukon Prize’s mission is to recognize excellence by Yukon visual artists and act as a catalyst for the promotion of Yukon visual art nationally and internationally.

Our Strategic Plan also sets out our values: to be artist centred, to seek excellence, to embrace diversity and inclusion and to celebrate Yukon artists.

How do we ensure that we are living up to those values?

One way is by seeking regular feedback from artists and having conversations with artists and the arts community about your needs.  If you are in Whitehorse, please come to our event on May 24, hosted by Nakai Theatre’s Jacob Zimmer, for lively discussion over beer and wings. Register with Courtney@yukonprize.ca to attend, or email her if you can’t attend but would like your views to be heard.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Alumni News

Works by two 2021 Yukon Prize finalists, Sho Sho Esquiro and Krystle Silverfox, were recently purchased by Global Affairs Canada Visual Arts Collection. The VAC is responsible for managing and curating fine art at Canadian embassies, high commissions and official residencies around the world.

Congrats, Krystle and Sho Sho!

Sho Sho Esquiro, Honouring our Mothers and Grandmothers, 2016
Photo credit Matika Wilbur

Krystle Silverfox, tth’i’ yáw nan (thread beads land), (series of 3) 2018
Images courtesy of the artist
Yukon Prize 2021 finalist Krystle Silverfox’s new show In the Air is now open at Macauley & Co Fine Arts in Vancouver. The Selkirk First Nation artist’s exhibition includes four new works as well as her piece, Ets’edegél (Spear Game), a “sculpture installation that explores the excitement of Arctic winter games” (Silverfox).

Krystle Silverfox, ETS’EDEGÉL’ (SPEAR GAME), 2020
Photo credit Rachel Topham Photography

Roomba goes rogue

At the 2021 Yukon Prize exhibition opening at the Yukon Arts Centre, two pieces in the show interacted more than intended. Ken Anderson, finalist for the 2021 Yukon Prize, created a piece of work mounted on a Roomba, which briefly escaped its bounds and started eating a thread from fellow finalist Krystle Silverfox’s “All that Glitters is not Gold.”

In the top image, co-founder David Trick and finalist Amy Ball attempt to untangle threads from the rogue Roomba. Fortunately the art is all fine.

Below, Ken takes a closer look at the roaming Roomba and Krystle Silverfox stands in front of her work.