New Horizons Prize

 

The New Horizons prize is given annually to a student enrolled in a 2nd cycle visual arts program at a Québec university thanks to a partnership between the Grantham Foundation for the Arts and the Environment and the Fonds Pierre-Mantha.

The prize is accompanied by an exhibition at the Foundation of work by 6 shortlisted students (1 per participating university) who submitted their applications to the selection committee.

Objectives

Reward a visual art student with an exceptional academic record whose art practice addresses environmental concerns.

Encourage visual artists in the process of professionalization.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Eligibility

The program is intended for third year undergraduate or master’s students in visual arts enrolled in a Quebec university that offers a graduate program in visual arts. The eligible universities are: Concordia University, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Université du Québec à Montréal, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières and Université Laval.

The students must have resided in Quebec for at least three years.

By visual arts, we refer to practices professionally recognized as such: photography, installation, sculpture, performance, as well as graphic, sound, digital and media art.

 

Endowment

The prize is $3,000.

An awards ceremony will be organized at the Grantham Foundation with representatives from the Fonds Pierre-Mantha in attendance.

The Foundation undertake to present the annual exhibition New Horizons featuring work by 6 shortlisted students (1 per university) who submitted their applications to the selection committee. In 2024, the exhibition will take place in the fall (dates to be confirmed).

The host university of the winner undertakes to produce a short video about the student’s art practice. The video will be presented on the Foundation’s website and social media.

 
 
 
 

Presentation of application

Application must include:

  • Student’s artist statement indicating their visual art interests in relation to environmental issues

  • Curriculum vitae (3 pages maximum)

  • Transcript. Student starting their master’s degree are welcome to submit their bachelor’s degree transcript

  • Proof of having resided in Quebec for 3 years

  • Visual portfolio: maximum 10 images or 5 web links with full captions and credits. Audiovisual materials must be at most 3 minutes each

The documents must be assembled in this order in a single PDF file (1Gb maximum). The student must submit their file by WeTransfer to the person in charge of this program at their university by February 16, 2024.

  • Concordia University: Johanne Sloan, johanne.sloan@concordia.ca

  • Université du Québec à Chicoutimi: Mathieu Valade, mvalade@uqac.ca

  • Université du Québec à Montréal: Emmanuelle Choquette, choquette.emmanuelle@uqam.ca

  • Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières: Jean-François Côté,

  • Jean-Francois.Cote@uqtr.ca

  • Université du Québec en Outaouais : Pavel Pavlov, pavel.pavlov@uqo.ca

  • Université Laval: Geneviève Chevalier, genevieve.chevalier@art.ulaval.ca

 

Selection process

The assessment criteria include:

  • Overall quality of the academic record

  • Overall quality of the art practice

  • Relevance of the visual portfolio to environmental issues

The selection committee is comprised of 6 professors representing the 6 Quebec universities offering graduate programs in visual arts. The artistic director of the Grantham Foundation acts as the chair of the committee. A representative of the Fonds Pierre-Mantha attends the discussions as an observer.