100 local pieces of art were celebrated and recognized at the first annual Nova Scotia People’s Portrait Prize at the Chester Art Centre in January.
The show ran from Jan. 9-25 and featured portraits in a variety of styles and mediums. Based on an idea from an initiative in Calgary, the goal for the show is to “promote portrait and figurative artwork by the vast talent that can be found in our community.”
A jury awarded eight prizes in seven categories, and the public was asked to vote for a People’s Choice Award. The full list of winners is below.
“We were truly surprised and deeply proud to see such an incredible response from our local artists,” says Gordon Stewart, Chair of the Chester Art Centre Board. “The talent in Lunenburg County is remarkable, and this exhibition is a celebration of their creativity and the stories that bind us together.”
Local art teacher and portrait artist Rebecca Fisk was delighted to see a community-based award.
“I think the artist community around the south shore was really excited about this… when they [Chester Art Centre] received all their portraits, I think they received a lot more than they were expecting from around Lunenburg County.”
Fisk’s self-portrait Waiting, one of three of her submissions, won the jury painting award. As a Black artist having grown up in a predominantly white, rural town, Fisk tackles racial stereotypes head on in her work, using her lived experience to inform her portraiture.
At an art show destined to showcase portraits from across Lunenburg County, Fisk’s self-portrait still stands out amongst the primarily non-racialized subjects. Her submissions challenge the public to confront racial prejudice and question the assumptions they make about the subjects of her art.make between the subjects of her art.
“I just like people to question their own biases and I would just like people to be aware of stereotypes that are out there,” says Fisk. “I’m getting a little too old to have that conversation myself so I just paint the pictures.”
Winners:
Patricia Dempsey
Yoongi B&W
(Digital Art & Mixed Media Award)
Rebecca Simone Fisk
Waiting
(Painting Award)
Jeff Gibson
American Outlaws Rufus Buck
(Drawing Award)
Chippie Kennedy
Incubo
(Sculpture Award)
Alison Mitchell
Lunenburg Gothic
(Textile Award)
Mary Morosky
Telly
(Photography Award)
Elise Walmsley-MacWha
To Serve and Protect
(Painting Award & People’s Choice Award)
