The prizes, initiated by Charles Pachter in 2012 for a period of three years, are now supported by William and Meredith Saunderson. The $5,000 prizes are intended to nurture emerging talent in the visual arts in Canada.
Dan Cardinal McCartney
Dan Cardinal McCartney is an interdisciplinary artist and emerging curator who holds a degree from AUArts (2016) in Drawing. He is of Mikisew Cree, Dene (Chipewyan), Métis, and mixed settler family lines from Fort Chipewyan, and is a foster care survivor raised in the northern Boreal of Fort McMurray. As a Two Spirit, transgender artist, Dan sifts through patterns of intergenerational trauma, his personal connection between Indigenous diaspora and his gender dysphoria, and colonial impacts on his family.
His focus is on mixed media collage, painting, moving images, and performance. Dan's work has since been featured in Fix your hearts or die at the Alberta Gallery of Art; let’s talk about sex, bb at Agnes Etherington Arts Centre, and Off-Centre: Queer Contemporary Art in the Prairies at the Dunlop in Regina. He is currently the Assistant Director at Stride Gallery inso-called Calgary, AB.
“I am honoured to be one of the 2021 William and Meredith Saunderson Prizes for Emerging Artists. This prize is a gift, and one that I will cherish moving forward in artmaking. There is no words to describe the gratitude I hold for every person who has believed in the need for a Two Spirit, transgender artist to create. I hope this award will bring pride to my relations, family, and ancestors.”
Oreka James
Oreka James is an interdisciplinary artist currently living and working in Toronto. They have received their BFA in Drawing and Painting at the Ontario College of Art and Design University while studying Furniture Design.
“I am humbled to have been chosen as one of your recipients for the 2021 Saunderson’s Emerging Artist prize. It was a most pleasant surprise to be recognized by your establishment at such a challenging time. I appreciate the thoughtfulness and assistance you offer to artists to encourage their art-making and careers. Thanks for your support. ”
Simranpreet Anand
Simranpreet Anand is an artist, curator, and cultural worker creating and working on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples (Vancouver). Her work is informed by her familial and community histories, often working with materials and concepts drawn from the histories of Punjabis and the Punjabi diaspora. Her work culminates in a mixture of cultural, textual, and material forms that are presented in ways that interrogate stereotypes, colonial legacies, and material histories.
“I am extremely honoured and grateful to be receiving The Hanatyshyn Foundation's Saunderson Prize for Emerging Artists in recognition of my dedication to artistic practice. The prize will contribute towards the continued interrogation of systemic racism and parallel settler colonial structures in my work. ”