Meet Leo Cocar, laureate of our Fogo Island Arts Young Young Curator Residency + Other news
April 10th 2024
As spring begins, the Hnatyshyn Foundation is delighted to announce the first recipient of its 2024 awards! Below, you will also find news about our programs and updates from past laureates.
The Hnatyshyn Foundation – Fogo Island Arts Young Curator Residency | 2024 laureate: Leo Cocar
Leo Cocar has been selected to attend The Hnatyshyn Foundation – Fogo Island Arts Young Curator Residency this summer. This coveted program, awarded annually, provides an opportunity for a young Canadian curator to work in residence at Fogo Island Arts (FIA), a contemporary arts venue in Newfoundland, for six weeks.
About FIA
Fogo Island Arts (FIA) is the founding program of Shorefast, a registered Canadian charity dedicated to unleashing the power of place so local communities can thrive in the global economy. Fogo Island Arts was founded in 2008 as an international artist residency program with the belief that artists are visionaries with a unique capacity to reveal and respond to the complexities of our time. The residencies enable artists, curators, and writers to think, create, and connect on Fogo Island, promoting discovery across perspectives and disciplines. The geographic specificity as an island off an island in the North Atlantic is a foundational platform for engagement around issues of sustainability, ecology, economy, and belonging. Over the last 15 years, Fogo Island Arts has grown into a program of exhibitions, public programs, publications, and research projects that aim to explore art and ideas and bridge connections between the local and the global.
Leo Cocar
Leo Cocar is a cultural worker from “Vancouver,” on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations. His writing has appeared in e-flux, C Magazine, Momus, Autre and Numéro Berlin, among others. He holds a BA from the University of British Columbia and an MA from the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College.
Cocar’s curatorial practice is marked by a socio-historical framing of contemporary art, reflected in an eclectic selection of subject matter. Recently, he has been interested in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in dialogue with performance art, histories of imperial violence, and the excess accumulation of the death drive within the national psyche. He is currently organizing a forthcoming exhibition of the work of Derya Akay at the Fall River Museum of Contemporary Art.
Find Leo on Instagram @Leo.Cocar
An Anathema Strikes the Flesh of the Laborer, curated by Leo Cocar. Work by Harry Gould Harvey IV. Image courtesy Hessel Museum of Art, Annandale-on-Hudson. Photo by Olympia Shannon.
During his residency, Cocar looks forward to immersing himself in Fogo Island’s uniquely rich cultural and ecological environment, asking himself, “how can an artist's work engage with or reflect a specific history or place?”
“It has been striking to see how an international selection of artists can dialogue with the island itself as a means of engaging in historical inquiry, autobiography or community engagement, among others. As a Canadian, I have paid attention to Fogo Island’s programming since my earliest forays into art and paying attention to its exhibition history has been just as formative on my practice as any lecture and I would be elated to learn from its staff and residents. Additionally, much of my recent research has revolved around ecology and land ownership. Fogo Island (in all its complexities) would be an ideal place to situate myself for a period to work on these lines of thought […]. The island’s geography is enlivened by art making and in turn, enlivens the practitioner. This is to say that if Fogo Island draws in cultural workers who are interested in this sort of dynamic, my interest in turn lies not only in Fogo Island’s programming but the type of resident who chooses to make the journey.”
Looking back: 2023 laureates
Last year, two young curators attended the Hnatyshyn Foundation – Fogo Island Arts Young Curator Residency. If you missed them, a summary of their experience at FIA is included in our 2023 annual report.
Other news: Congratulations to Michelle Jacques for winning a Governor General’s Award in the Visual and Media Arts!
We at The Hnatyshyn Foundation were elated to learn that Michelle Jacques, the laureate of our 2022 Mid-Career Award for Curatorial Excellence, has won a Governor General’s Award in the Visual and Media Arts for her outstanding contribution to contemporary visual arts.
The award’s page features a video elucidating Jacques’ curatorial philosophy, as well as the following bio:
“Michelle Jacques is a visual arts curator who works to create new points of entry to the museum space. Her recent work includes ‘Meanwhile, Anytime: Short Reflection on the History of Black Artists at the AGO,’ which was part of Moving the Museum: Indigenous + Canadian Art at the AGO, co-edited by Wanda Nanibush and Georgiana Uhlyarik (2023), and Denyse Thomasos: just beyond, co-produced by Remai Modern and the Art Gallery of Ontario and curated with Sally Frater and Renée van der Avoird (2022). She was the recipient of the 2022 Hnatyshyn Foundation Award for Curatorial Excellence. Over the course of her 30-year career, Michelle has held positions in museums across Canada, mentored emerging curators and taught art history and curatorial studies at several universities. Michelle grew up in Toronto, Ontario, and now lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where she is the Director of Exhibitions and Collections and Chief Curator at Remai Modern.”
It brings us tremendous satisfaction to see laureates of our awards continue to succeed in their respective fields, and receive acclaim and support for their accomplishments!
Reminder: Current calls
Finally, please continue to nominate exceptional developing and emerging artists for our Developing Artist Grants, Joysanne Sidimus Grant, and Saunderson Prizes. Nominations have already started rolling in, and we are excited about the promise of the talented candidates. We look forward to announcing the laureates of our 2024 prizes this summer and fall!
Developing Artist Grants
Disciplines
Classical music (orchestral instrument - strings); Classical music (orchestral instrument - winds, percussions, brass); Classical music (piano); Classical vocal performance (graduate level); Jazz performance (instrumental or vocal); Contemporary dance; Acting (English theatre); Acting (French theatre).
Deadline
May 1st, 2024.
The William and Meredith Saunderson Prizes for Emerging Artists
Three Saunderson Prizes are awarded every year, to support young emerging visual artists whose practices show potential and who are deemed to have the determination and talent to contribute to the legacy of art in Canada. Representatives of public and private galleries, fine arts training institutions previously or currently attended by the nominees, and artist-run-centres, are invited to submit nominations.
Deadline
May 6th, 2024.
The William and Meredith Saunderson Prizes for Emerging Artists
The Hnatyshyn Foundation – Joysanne Sidimus Ballet Grant
The Hnatyshyn Foundation – Joysanne Sidimus Ballet Grant of $10,000 will support an exceptionally talented young dancer by bridging the gap between their full-time training and professional practice.
Deadline
May 13th, 2024
The Hnatyshyn Foundation – Joysanne Sidimus Ballet Grant
As always, we extend our thanks to the generous donors and supporters who make our work possible, and to the artists who make it exciting.
Wishing you a creative and happy spring,
The Hnatyshyn Foundation
