Cree visual artist Kent Monkman is one of eight extraordinary artists who will receive the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, which comes with a $25,000 prize and bronze medallion.
Monkman, who received an honorary doctorate from OCAD University in 2017, was nominated for the award by Naomi Johnson, executive director of imagineNATIVE.
In her nomination statement, Johnson wrote, “Kent has inspired generations of artists and challenged larger Canadian conceptions of its history and its relations to Indigenous people… [He has showed the] consistent care, dignity, and respect he has for the subject matter he explores but more importantly for the Indigenous people whose stories he is putting forth.”
About Kent Monkman
Monkman is well-known for his provocative reinterpretations of romantic North American landscapes. Themes of colonization, sexuality, loss and resilience – the complexities of historic and contemporary Native American experience – are explored in a variety of mediums, including painting, film/video, performance and installation.
Monkman has created memorable site-specific performances at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, The Royal Ontario Museum, The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, Compton Verney, and most recently at the Denver Art Museum.
His work has been exhibited internationally and is widely represented in the collections of major museums in Canada and the United States.
The Canada Council for the Arts celebrates the exceptional careers of artists from Canada with the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts. These awards are the most prestigious distinctions for artistic merit and outstanding contribution to the visual and media arts in Canada. The presentation of the award will be held later in 2025.
Source: Canada Council for the Arts
Image credit: Observer/Toronto Star via Getty Images
