Saidye Bronfman Award
The Saidye Bronfman Award is Canada's foremost distinction for excellence in the fine crafts. "Fine craft" is the term used to define an area of activity in the crafts that is frequently directed towards exhibition and/or sale in a gallery-like setting. This activity involves high levels of technical expertise, knowledge of materials and, often, professional training. In addition to a demonstrated respect for and knowledge of the historical tradition and development of their craft, fine craft practitioners demonstrate new concepts and innovation that expand the boundaries of materiality and technique through their work.
Created in 1977 by the Bronfman family to honour their mother on her 80th birthday, the $25,000 prize is awarded annually to an exceptional craftsperson. In addition, works by the recipient are acquired by the Canadian Museum of Civilization for its permanent collection.
The Saidye Bronfman Award is presented by the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation in association with the Canada Council for the Arts and the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
Eligibility
Candidates must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
To be nominated, candidates must have made a substantial contribution to the development of crafts in Canada over a significant period of time (at least 10 years; fewer under exceptional circumstances).
Members of the board of the Canada Council for the Arts are not eligible to be considered for this prize during the course of their terms as members and for six months following the end of their term.
All Canada Council programs are accessible to Aboriginal artists and arts organizations and artists and arts organizations of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.
Nomination Deadline
Nominations and all support documentation must be postmarked no later than 30 January 2006. If this date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
The Canada Council will not accept late nominations or those submitted by fax or email. Incomplete submissions and those that do not meet the requirements will not be presented to the selection committee.
Nomination Process
Candidates do not apply for the prize, rather they must be nominated by:
- a national, provincial and/or territorial crafts council;
- an association of professional craft artists or a national or provincial service organization in the fine crafts
- a national or provincial single media guild
- a public gallery or art museum that has demonstrated a strong commitment to collecting and exhibiting fine crafts
- the director, curator, or a member of the board of directors of a Canadian museum, public gallery or artist-run centre that has demonstrated a strong commitment to producing, collecting and/or exhibiting contemporary Canadian art and that has received Canada Council funding at least once in the past 10 years
- the dean or chair of fine arts of a Canadian university or art college, or a professor of fine arts at such an institution
- a Canadian private dealer in fine crafts or visual arts
- an established fine crafts or visual arts critic or curator
- a previous recipient of the Saidye Bronfman Award, and
- a former or current Canada Council for the Arts grant holder or prize winner in fine crafts or visual arts.
Note: To qualify for nominating privileges, an institution must have a mandate to collect and exhibit fine crafts or have consistently acquired and exhibited works of contemporary Canadian fine crafts. For verification, please contact the Visual Arts Section Officer as indicated at the end of this document.
Eligible nominators must complete and submit a nomination form, available from the Visual Arts Section. Nominators may nominate up to two individuals per year; a separate nomination form must be completed for each candidate. Nominees need not be from the province, territory or medium of the nominator.
You may nominate candidates each year, and you may re-submit the same support material. However, nominations will not automatically be brought forward to the competition the following year. Nominations remain the responsibility of the nominator.
Support Documentation
Nominations must include the support material listed in the nomination form. Thirty mounted 35 mm slides are required, showing a maximum of 20 different objects plus details. The slides must demonstrate the nominee’s range of work and be assembled in chronological order (most recent work last), with the emphasis on current work. All slides must be marked with the nominee’s name and numbered consecutively to correspond with the listing on pages 6 and 7 of the nomination form. The top right corner of the slide, when held in the hand for viewing, must be indicated and slides must be of one object only. Originals, glass slides or slides in cardboard mounts should not be sent. Images may also be presented in digital format (consult the document Dos and Don'ts of Submitting Digital Support Material to the Visual Arts Section accompanying the application form).
Optional: The nomination package may include other support material, such as catalogues or critical reviews, that provides evidence of the candidate’s achievements. The material must be listed and described briefly in Part E2 of the nomination form. No more than five such pieces of material may be included.
Nominators are responsible for gathering and providing the relevant documentation to the Canada Council for the Arts, prior to the deadline, and for ensuring that the documentation complies with the guidelines.
Please note: Should one of the nominator’s candidates be selected as the award recipient, the nominator must submit the following additional material within two weeks of notification. The material may be published or used by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, or the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation in media releases and other promotional activities in support of the Saidye Bronfman Award.
- An artistic or personal statement of not more than one page, written by the nominee. This statement may have been published previously.
- A one-page biography of the nominee.
- Two black-and-white glossy photographs of the nominee, preferably at work, and two similar photographs of his or her work. Photographs must be large enough and of good enough quality to be reproduced.
Originals should not be sent. The Canada Council is not responsible for the loss or damage, whatever the cause, of support material.
The support material of unsuccessful candidates will be returned directly to the nominator.
Selection Procedure
Nominations are assessed by a peer selection committee, composed of experienced crafts professionals selected for their expertise. The committee may include one expert from outside Canada. Members are also chosen to ensure fair representation of gender, the two official languages, Aboriginal peoples, the various regions and cultures of Canada, and various types of artistic practices within the crafts community.
A key element of assessment is viewing the slides of the candidate’s current work. The Canada Council wishes to acknowledge that the committee would prefer to see the actual work of the nominees but, as this is not practical, slides must be used instead. The quality of the slides will inevitably influence the committee's decisions.
The principal criteria of assessment will be the excellence of the work (covering all aspects of aesthetics, creativity, innovation and technical mastery) and the candidate’s contribution to the development of the fine crafts in Canada.
Notification of Results
The names of the five finalists and the recipient of the 2006 Saidye Bronfman Award will be announced in the Fall of 2006.
Nominators whose candidates are not included in the final selection will be notified, in writing, of the results after the public announcement. Results are not released over the telephone or by email.
Conditions of Receiving the Award
Recipients are requested to advise the Canada Council if they intend to mount an exhibition as a result of the award. The laureates must participate fully in all award events, including media conferences, ceremonies and other related events. They must also allow photographs and public information about themselves to be used for promotion of the awards and in other Canada Council promotion initiatives.
The laureate and nominator must agree to keep the results confidential until the date of the public announcement, at which time all participants will be notified of the results of the competition.
Recent Laureates
2005 -- Michael Hosaluk, wood turner (Saskatoon, SK)
2004 -- Maurice Savoie, ceramist (Longueuil, QC)
2003 – Walter Ostrom, ceramic artist (Indian Harbour, NS)
2002 – Kai Chan, textile artist (Toronto)
2001 – Léopold L. Foulem, ceramist (Montreal and Caraquet, NB)
Application Form
Saidye Bronfman Nomination Form (pdf, 272 KB)
This form can only be printed and cannot be filled out on-line.
Further Information
For further details or to obtain an application for the Saidye Bronfman Award, contact the Visual Arts Section Officer, toll-free at 1-800-263-5588 or (613) 566-4414, ext. 5269. You may also contact Janet Riedel Pigott, at ext. 5041, in the Endowments and Prizes Section. General information about grants and prizes is available on the Canada Council website.
TTY (TDD) machine, for hearing impaired callers: (613) 565-5194
Fax: (613) 566-4332 (Visual Arts Section)
(613) 566-4430 (Endowments and Prizes Section)
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
November 2005