The first ever Yukon Prize for Visual Arts Weekend will be held in Whitehorse from September 14 to 16, with a gala celebration and plenty of free events for art-loving Yukoners and visitors.
The weekend will kick off on Thursday, September 14, with the opening of the Yukon Prize 2023 Exhibition at the Yukon Arts Centre displaying the artworks of this year’s six Yukon Prize finalists.
People attending the show will be able to vote for their favourite artwork for the Viewers’ Choice Award presented by Casino Mining, which will award $3,000 to the artist whose work receives the most votes.
The Yukon Prize Art Crawl presented by Air North, Yukon’s Airline, will take place Friday September 15, 4-8 pm, at more than 15 locations across downtown Whitehorse. These venues are opening their doors for art-lovers to see and buy original Yukon art and meet some of the artists. Live music and refreshments will be offered at several venues. Anyone attending can enter a draw for a $500 Air North gift certificate.
On Saturday September 16, there will be free events all day, including a free lunch (sponsored by Tim Hortons) panel sessions about art and artists at Yukon University, a workshop with Artist in Residence Tara Kolla at the Yukon Archives, and tours of the finalists’ show at the Yukon Arts Centre led by the artists. Speakers during the day will include:
- Dr. Heather Igloliorte, the University Research Chair in Circumpolar Indigenous Arts at Concordia University in Montreal;
- Michelle Jacques, the Head of Exhibitions and Collections/Chief Curator at the Remai Modern gallery in Saskatoon;
- Sarah Milroy, the chief curator of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg ON;
- Michelle LaVallee, Director, Indigenous Ways and Decolonization, the National Gallery of Canada;
- Jeneen Frei Njootli, internationally known Vuntut Gwitchin artist; and
- Pennylane Shen, arts consultant.
The climax of the weekend will be the 2023 Yukon Prize Gala, a ticketed event on Saturday evening, September 16. The evening will feature a show in the Yukon Arts Centre theatre with performances by Matthew Lien, the Kwanlin Dághàłaan K’e Dancers and Bria Rose N’ Thorns, and the awarding of the $20,000 Yukon Prize for Visual Arts. The show will be followed by a reception with culinary creations by six caterers featuring local food inspired by the six finalists’ art, a Portrait Parlour for glam photos, door prizes, and more. Tickets for the gala are limited and can be purchased for $120 at yukontickets.com.
Report from Let’s Talk Art now available!
One of the values of the Yukon Prize is that we are artist driven. How do we ensure that what we are doing is relevant to artists’ needs? How can we further connections and foster synergies within the arts community? We start by listening to artists and others in the arts community.
Read the Report of our May 2023 Let’s Talk Art engagement session on our website: https://yukonprize.ca/about-the-yukon-prize/#vision
Yukon Prize in the News
- Celebrating Yukon Art: Yukon Prize gala and Air North Art Crawl showcase artists’ talent, Yukon North of Ordinary, Fall 2023, pgs. 38-39.
- Yukon artist stitches stories into work that’s been shortlisted for the Yukon Prize, Yukon News, August 11, 2023
- Whitehorse artist selected as Yukon Prize Finalist, Yukon News, August 10, 2023
- Dawson City sound and media artist up for $20,000 Yukon Prize for Visual Arts, Yukon News, July 20, 2023
Alumni News
Works by several Yukon longlisted artists are among the new acquisitions to the Yukon Permanent Art Collection.
These new acquisitions are part of an exhibition opening on September 15 at 3 pm at the Jim Smith Administration building in Whitehorse, just prior to the Art Crawl from 4-8 pm the same day.
You can see this show, Out in the Open, during the Art Crawl or during office hours for the next few months.
Yukon Prize 2023 finalist Cole Pauls and curator/multidisciplinary artist, Whess Harman, speak in greater depth about Pauls’ comic Chäshu̧ Kadini (Say That Again), which opens C Magazine’s most recent issue, 154 “Gossip” – you can watch their video conversation.
The McMichael Canadian Collection recently purchased “Spear Game”, a 2020 work by 2021 finalist Krystle Silverfox, first exhibited at the Yukon Arts Centre and now on display at the McMichael in Kleinburg ON.
