TWO MI’KMAQ WINNERS OF THE 2022 BMO 1ST! ART AWARD
Selected from a record-breaking pool of 345 submissions, 2 of the 11 regional winners are Mi’kmaq!
About the Award
It is with great pride that we congratulate our fellow Two Spirit-LGBTQIA+ Mi’kmaq artists in New Brunswick on winning the BMO 1st Art Award 2022! The BMO 1st Art competition celebrates the creativity of art school students from over 100 post-secondary institutions across Canada. Selected from a record-breaking pool of 345 submissions, 2 of the 11 regional winners are Mi’kmaq artists who will receive a cash prize of $7,500.
2022 Winners
Oakley Rain Wysote Gray member of Listigutj First Nation, who now resides in Fredericton, and is a graduate of the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, in addition to being a member of the O’Halloran Coat Project, Gray is the 2022 regional winner for the province of New Brunswick.
Collin Alexander, Project Assistant with the Indigenous Tourism Association of New Brunswick and, also member of Natoaganeg First Nation as a recent graduate from the University of Toronto he became the 2022 regional winner for the province of Ontario.
found lumber, bricks, clay, audio, speaker,24×80×28 in; 61×203×71 cm 8 minutes audio.
National Winner
- Shizuka Yoshimura, Transient Shine, Yukon School of Visual Arts (Yukon)
Regional Winners
- Oakley Rain Wysote Gray, Nmis (Sister), New Brunswick College of Craft & Design (New Brunswick)
- Collin Alexander, MLAGEJUO’Q, University of Toronto (Ontario)
- Kaela Murphy, my hair, University of Lethbridge (Alberta)
- Ali Cayetano, cope, University of British Columbia (British Columbia)
- Solange Roy, You Want a Piece of Me?, University of Manitoba, (Manitoba)
- Georgia Dawkin, PROFESSIONAL WOMAN: COMING SOON, Memorial University of Newfoundland (Newfoundland & Labrador)
- Ivan Flores, Mother Giant, NSCAD University (Nova Scotia)
- Chris Bailey, Fisherman’s Repose, Holland College (Prince Edward Island)
- Avery Mikolic-O’Rourke, Center-Point Cycle (45.4704492, -73.6044496), Concordia University (Quebec)
- Aurora Wolfe, Interruption I, Interruption II, University of Saskatchewan (Saskatchewan)
- Sabrina Jin, Kink, Yukon School of Visual Arts (Yukon)
Exhibition Opening
There will be a group exhibition at the University of Toronto that takes place on the traditional land of many nations, such as the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Chippewa, and the Haudenosaunee. Alexander and Gray will travel along with the other winning artists to Toronto where they will meet each other, and get to know the other art works while representing the Mi’kmaq nation at the opening. At the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery (7 Hart House Cir, Toronto, ON M5S 3H3) this years show will launch October 25th and run until November 19, 2022.
View the Exhibition Now
Learn more about the BMO Art 1st Award