AIMIA | AGO Photography Prize 2013 Winner Announcement

November 7, 2013, 8:30 p.m.
as part of AGO’s First Thursdays art party
AGO Walker Court

Walker court was a fitting venue for an exciting award ceremony at the AGO on the evening of November 7, 2013. The large room with it’s vaulted ceiling and arched doorways filled with purple light, anticipation, music and crowds milling about and socializing while waiting for the ceremony. The event was well attended with lots of young people in attendance, with drinks in hand, enjoying themselves.

AGO’s director and CEO Matthew Teitelbaum

CBC Arts reporter Deana Sumanac was the elegant and professional MC for the award ceremony.

CBC Arts reporter Deana Sumanac

The top prize winner of $50,000 was Canadian Erin Shirreff. Her work interweaves photography, video and sculpture to extend and explore the act of looking, asking questions about the often paradoxical relationship between time and space and the image, and the impact of perception on the location of meaning. The three other finalists each received $5000 and an eight week art residency.

Vince Timpano, President and Chief Executive Officer, Aimia, Canada

Vince Timpano, President and Chief Executive Officer, Aimia, Canada, AGO’s director and CEO Matthew Teitelbaum and artist Erin Shirreff

Erin Shirreff didn’t have an acceptance speech prepared because she completely did not expect to win. In her remarks she stated that she had been hesitant about being a part of the contest when she was invited to because she was unsure about the judging process. She was assured, however, that the goal of the contest was to get people to come to the gallery and engage with art, so she decided to be a part of it.

Winner of the competition, artist Erin Shirreff

Shirreff’s large size video installations do allow people to linger and stare at scenes and get lost in the work; looking at images from nature or interesting shapes of sculpture. Her work is more artistic and less journalistic than the other three runners up. It was a relief to this artist and photographer to see art win out over words, because, I believe, people should be able to look at work in a gallery and enjoy it for it’s own sake, without having to know the story behind to understand it. It seems to me that art won over “spin” in this case. I was starting to wonder when I saw the work of the other finalists and listened at the Panel Discussion (September 12, 2013) to chief juror Elizabeth Smith rhapsodize about the story behind Latoya Ruby Fraser’s work and make no mention of the artistic merit of the photos if this was an art photo prize or a photo-journalist prize.

Erin Shirreff, Lake, 2012, video still, silent color video, 44 minute loop