Raphaëlle de Groot wins 2012 Sobey Art Award

Posted November 16, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Raphaëlle de Groot wins 2012 Sobey Art Award

November 16, 2012—TORONTO, ON —The Curatorial Panel for the 2012 Sobey Art Award has chosen Raphaëlle de Groot as the recipient of the $50,000 award. Raphaëlle de Groot represents the Québec region.

The announcement was made this evening during a gala event to celebrate the Award’s 10^th anniversary, held at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) and hosted by Karen Kain, Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada.

The Award was presented to the winning artist by the 2011 Sobey winners, Daniel Young and Christian Giroux.

The other shortlisted artists for this year’s Award were:

Gareth Moore – West Coast and Yukon;
Jason de Haan – Prairies and the North;
Derek Sullivan – Ontario;
Eleanor King – Atlantic.

Each of these artists receives $5,000 in prize money from the Sobey Art Foundation.

In commenting on Raphaëlle de Groot’s achievement, the curatorial committee said:

“Raphaëlle de Groot makes artwork in varied contexts, most often outside of the conventional art world. This process affords her the opportunity to meet people from different milieus, such as a community of nuns, workers at a textile factory, domestic workers, and students. Through her practice, we are called on to be active witnesses, intrigued by what we see, disturbed by what we discover of ourselves and by what is revealed to us in this encounter with art and the artist in the present. Her projects take the shape of actions, objects, images, and documentation. De Groot’s practice explores and challenges ways in which art is created and received. Her work reinforces common values and shared human experiences.”

The 2012 Sobey Art Award Curatorial Panel consists of:

David Diviney, Curator of Exhibitions, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia;
Louise Déry, Director, Galerie de l’UQAM, Université du Québec à Montréal;
David Liss, Artistic Director and Curator, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art;
Ryan Doherty, Curator, Southern Alberta Art Gallery;
Bruce Grenville, Senior Curator, Vancouver Art Gallery.

Since its inception, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia has organized and administered the Sobey Art Award and its accompanying exhibition. Every other year, the Award travels to a gallery or museum outside of Halifax.

The 2012 Sobey Art Award shortlist exhibition is on view at MOCCA until December 30, 2012.

About the Sobey Art Award
The Sobey Art Award, Canada’s pre-eminent award for contemporary art, was created in 2002 by the Sobey Art Foundation. It is an annual prize given to an artist age 40 and under who has exhibited in a public or commercial art gallery within 18 months of being nominated. A total of $70,000 in prize money is awarded annually; $50,000 to the winner and $5,000 to the other four finalists. For information: www.sobeyartaward.ca

Previous winners are: Daniel Young and Christian Giroux (2011), Daniel Barrow (2010),David Altmejd (2009), Tim Lee (2008), Michel de Broin (2007), Annie Pootoogook (2006), Jean-Pierre Gauthier (2004) and Brian Jungen (2002).

About Raphaëlle de Groot

Raphaëlle de Groot was born in 1974 in Montreal where she lives and works. She holds an MFA from the Université du Québec à Montréal (2006). Raphaëlle has presented her work actively in Canada and Europe since 1997. Over the years she has acquired valuable collaboration experiences with, among others, Dare-dare (Montréal), the Centre d’histoire de Montréal, the Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto (Biella, Italy), the Leeds City Art Gallery (UK), the Galerie de l’UQAM (Montreal), the Quartier, Centre d’art contemporain de Quimper (France), the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (Lethbridge) and recently with La Chambre Blanche (Quebec) and Optica (Montreal). She took part in the first edition of the Québec Triennial unveiled at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal in 2008, in the exhibition Femmes artistes. L’éclatement des frontiers 1965-2000, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (2010) and in the two parts of Archi-féministes! at Optica (2011-2012). Her next plans will take place at the Festival cultural de Mayo Hospice Cabañas, Guadalajara, Mexico and in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, for the Biennale national de sculpture contemporaine. Presently she works in collaboration with the Musée de la civilization (Quebec) and the Musée Colby-Curtis (Stanstead) for the project presented next fall with a solo show at Galerie Graff, Montreal. Winner of the Pierre-Ayot prize 2006 and a 2008 Sobey Art Award finalist, Raphaëlle de Groot was awarded the Prix Graff (14th edition) in 2011.

Images for Media

For images regarding 2012 Sobey Art Award go to: www.sobeyartaward.ca

Tags / Keywords
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, MOCCA, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, AGNS, Sobey Art Award 2012, Sobey Art Foundation, Sobey, Gareth Moore, Jason de Haan, Derek Sullivan, Raphaëlle de Groot, Eleanor King, David Diviney, Louise Déry, David Liss, Ryan Doherty, Bruce Grenville, Sarah Fillmore

About the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is the largest art museum in Atlantic Canada. With locations in downtown Halifax and downtown Yarmouth, the Gallery houses the Province’s art collection and offers a range of exhibitions and programming. For information: www.artgalleryofnovascotia.ca

About MOCCA
The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) was founded from the former Art Gallery of North York in 1999. In 2005, MOCCA relocated to the West Queen West Art + Design District in downtown Toronto, in the heart of one of North America’s most dynamic arts communities. Our facility is modest in scale, impressive in design, and functions effectively as a nucleus of energies for cultural production and exchange.

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All programs and activities of the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art are supported by Toronto Culture, the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, BMO Financial Group, Cisco Canada, individual memberships and private donations. MOCCA acknowledges the support of the Government of Ontario, through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and its Museum and Technology Fund program.

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