Colleen Heslin, winner of the RBC Canadian Painting Competition, and her work entitled Almost young and wild and free. Image courtesy of RBC

ART COMPETITION

Who will win RBC’s Canadian Painting Competition $25,000 cash prize? The excitement amongst emerging Canadian visual artists grows.

BY ARTCENTRON

TORONTO — There is great expectation in Canada about who will win this year’s RBC Canadian Painting Competition. With the announcement of fifteen of Canada’s finest emerging visual artists as finalists several weeks ago, there has been great anxiety as artists and friends wait patiently for the jurors’ decision.

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Canadian Painting Competition is part of RBC’s ongoing support and dedication to emerging artists across several disciplines. The annual competition helps discover painters in the early stages of their careers and provides them with the foundation and necessary tools to succeed.

Speaking about the competition, Robin Anthony, curator, RBC said “Each year, we are impressed by the caliber of submissions the RBC Canadian Painting Competition receives.” She adds ‘The jury is buzzing about this group of artists, and we are excited to announce the list of finalists to the public and are hoping they benefit from the profile this competition will bring to their work.’

This highly competitive competition has seasoned art professionals as judges. Made up of some of Canada’s most respected artists, gallery directors, curators, and art critics, the jurors have the task of narrowing all applicants down to 15 finalists and also act as informal mentors, helping to develop the careers and practice of the painters. For 2014, RBC will award a total of $55,000 in prize money. The winner will receive a cash prize of $25,000, while two honorable mentions will each receive $15,000. The winners’ painting will also become part of RBC’s corporate art collection, one of the most valuable corporate collections in Canada. In the collection are more than 4,000 pieces of art that have been collected for over a century.

Significance of Winning the RBC Canadian Painting Competition

Colleen Heslin, winner of the 2013 RBC Canadian Painting Competition notes that winning the competition has had a significant impact on her artistic career. “This competition had a definite impact on my career as a painter,” he said. Reminiscing, she adds that “Not only did the prize money afford me time to develop my practice, I also made invaluable professional connections.” Heslin’s most recent exhibition held at the Monte Clark Gallery in Vancouver, ended July 7.

On Wednesday, October 1, the winner and two honorable mentions will be announced at a gala at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. All the finalists’ paintings will also be displayed at the gallery between Tuesday, September 9 and Wednesday, October 8, 2014. All the paintings will then be on exhibit at Art Toronto, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, from October 23 to 27, 2014.

The 2014 RBC Canadian Painting Competition Finalists:

Western Canada

• Ashleigh Bartlett Calgary, AB
• Ufuk Gueray, Winnipeg, MB
• Tiziana La Meila, Vancouver, BC
• Laura Piasta, Vancouver, BC
• Robert Taite, Winnipeg, MB

Central Canada

• Jennifer Carvalho, Toronto, ON
• Wallis Cheung, Toronto, ON
• James Gardner, Toronto, ON
• Gavin Lynch, Ottawa, ON
• Megan McCabe, Toronto, ON

Eastern Canada

• Carly Butler, Halifax, NS
• Teto Elsiddique, Halifax, NS
• Karine Fréchette, Montreal, QC
• Nicolas Lachance, Montreal, QC
• Elysanne Tremblay, Montreal, QC

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