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News Releases - 2009

Art Bank acquires 55 new works by Canadian artists from culturally diverse communities

Ottawa, April 23, 2009 – The Canada Council Art Bank is acquiring
55 new works by Canadian artists of African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and mixed racial heritage to enhance its collection of original contemporary Canadian art. The peer assessment committee chose the works from over 530 submissions received. The total value of the artworks is just over $230,000.

The primary objectives of this purchase were to increase the awareness of culturally diverse artists about the programs offered by the Canada Council; complement the Art Bank’s collection; and respond to the increasing cultural diversity of Canada’s population. The works were selected on the basis of artistic excellence, significance to current art practice and suitability for rental.

“We are delighted with the results,” said Art Bank Director
Victoria Henry. “The Art Bank purchase of works by these Canadian artists provided an opportunity to understand how artists from culturally diverse backgrounds tell their stories: stories with autobiographical commentary, use of repetition, subtle references to traditional practices and humour.”

She added, “The works purchased include photographs, embroidery, ceramics and paintings, and reflect the knowledge of current art practice in Canada while at the same time incorporating messages of personal histories. One object is a colourful ceramic and found materials sculpture constructed to represent a constant cycle of birth and transformation. Another is a striking photograph of an Iranian woman reading on a bus. These are important acquisitions for our clients who are looking for edgier contemporary work.” 
Download these two images.

The members of the peer assessment committee were: Andrea Fatona, curator (Ottawa); Peggy Gale, writer/critic (Toronto); Enrique Ferreol, artist/educator (Halifax); Marie-Jeanne Musiol, artist (Gatineau, QC); Camilla Singh, curator (Toronto); and Henry Tsang, educator (Vancouver). The next deadline date for submissions of artwork to the Art Bank is October 15, 2009. This will be open to all Canadian professional artists. Artists are encouraged to check the Art Bank website regularly for deadlines and other Art Bank news.

General information

The Art Bank, which has the largest collection of contemporary Canadian art in the world, was created in 1972 to support the efforts of Canadian visual artists and to provide public sector institutions with the opportunity to rent Canadian art for their offices and public spaces. The Art Bank includes some 17,400 artworks, and currently has close to 7,000 works rented to more than 200 government and corporate clients.

Canada Council Art Bank: new acquisitions

Name

City

Prov.

Title

Category

Jessica Auer

Montreal

QC

Machu Picchu, Peru

Photography

Laura Barron

Toronto

ON

Cathedral

Photography

Raphael Bendahan

Montreal

QC

The Tribe

Photography

Charles Campbell

Victoria

BC

Maroon Mandala 2

Painting

Eric Chan

Ottawa

ON

Chaos Bloom

Painting

Lucie-Clair Chan

Halifax

NS

Three Heads

Drawing

Millie Chen

Ridgeway

ON

Wallpaper

Mixed Media

Sylvia Cheng

Scarborough

ON

Made in China

Ceramic

Ying-Yueh Chuang

Toronto

ON

Field

Ceramic

Josette De Roussy

Kelowna

BC

Barra de Navidad

Painting

Erika DeFreitas

Scarborough

ON

The Impossible Speech Act

Photography

Sarindar Dhaliwal

Etobicoke

ON

Mother and Child: Dissonance

Digital Art

R. Brendan Fernandes

Newmarket

ON

Landuma Thomsoni

Digital Art

Michelle Fung

Vancouver

BC

When we haven’t got snow anymore

Drawing

Rafael Goldchain

Toronto

ON

The Goldstein Brothers’ Klezmer Band

Photography

Sunil Gupta

London

UK

Khiyanur

Photography

Osheen Harruthoonyan

Toronto

ON

Transference

Photography

Carolina

Hernández-Hernández

Montreal

QC

La même fin

Painting

Sin-Ying Ho

Mississauga

ON

Fractured Unity

Sculpture

Joanne Hui

Montreal

QC

The Potato Wars: Chinese-Canadian Resistance during the Exclusion Era

Print-making

Tomoyo Ihaya

Vancouver

BC

Peace Rice

Mixed Media

Pedro Isztin

Ottawa

ON

Octavian, Canada

Photography

Fabian Jean

Montreal

QC

A New World

Painting

Shié Kasai

Montreal

QC

Survival Japanese Cooking

Photography

Soheila Kolahdouz Esfahani

Waterloo

ON

To dance so in the midst of the arena is my desire

Painting

Will Kwan

Scarborough

ON

Endless Prosperity, Eternal Accumulation

Photography

Kasumi Lampitoc

Toronto

ON

Giant Teapot

Sculpture

Evan Foon Lee

Vancouver

BC

Ginseng Root Study No. 18 (ed. 1/3)

Photography

J. J. Lee

Toronto

ON

Citri Immaturi

Painting

Richard Leong

Montreal

QC

The Tree of Life and Death

Painting

José Mansilla-Miranda

Ottawa

ON

Terra Extrema

Painting

Ashok Mathur

Vancouver

BC

one hundred thirty-three thousand five hundred twenty-eight words and a super-8 grab

Photography

Sanaz Mazinani

Toronto

ON

Woman Reading on Bus, Tehran, Iran

Photography

Anna McIntyre

Montreal

QC

Thinking of All the Famous People I Know

Mixed Media

Louise Noguchi

Etobicoke

ON

Mirror 6

Photography

Julie Oh

Saskatoon

SK

Paper Route

Photography

Abdi Osman

Toronto

ON

Discover Me...Series

Photography

Michele Peress

Montreal

QC

White Bear

Print-making

Edward Pien

Toronto

ON

From Thin Air

Drawing

Lorenzo Pepito

Richmond

BC

Converse: Speak

Painting

Andrew Reyes

Toronto

ON

Montevideo

Print-making

Paul Robles

Winnipeg

MB

Darkest Birds (from Series: “My Beautiful War”)

Mixed Media

Jana Sasaki

Clearwater

BC

Tabi and “Socks” (Diptych)

Print-making

Dionne Simpson

Toronto

ON

Urban E_Scape 32

Painting

Ken Singer

Vancouver

BC

Nobody Here But Us

Painting

Do-Hee Sung

Calgary

AB

Puncheong Cherry Blossom Green Vase

Ceramic

Daisuke Takeya

Toronto

ON

Ottawa - from the Kara Series

Painting

Ho Tam

Victoria

BC

Untitled (Sunset)

Photography

Karen Tam

London

UK

The Siege of Jingxin Pharmaceutical (After Rotterdam)

Mixed Media

Denyse Thomasos

New York

NY

Excavations: Jaipur Royal Visit

Painting

Howard Tsui

Ottawa

ON

Bipolar

Drawing

Yvonne Wakabayashi

Burnaby

BC

Sea Anemone

Sculpture

Timothy Whiten

Toronto

ON

T after Tom: Phase II (divider)

Sculpture

Janice Wong

Vancouver

BC

Her Thought Bubble

Print-making

Lin Xu

Brandon

MB

Lylablily

Sculpture

For more information:

Grace Thrasher
Manager, Public Relations Team
1-800-263-5588 or
613-566-4414, ext. 5145
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