VANL-CARFAC
Visual Artists Newfoundland & Labrador

Recipient of the 2021 Cox & Palmer Pivotal Point Grant Announced Visual Artist, Ethan Murphy, Awarded $5,000

For Immediate Release   St. John’s, NL – December 8th, 2021  Cox & Palmer and Visual Artists Newfoundland and Labrador (VANL-CARFAC) are pleased to announce Ethan Murphy as the recipient of the 2021 Cox & Palmer Pivotal Point Grant in support of “Eternal Return”—a photographic project centered around a cabin given to the artist by his late father and interrogating the ways that “positivity and resilience can emerge from grief”. 

The Cox & Palmer Pivotal Point Grant is a funding opportunity offered through VANL-CARFAC for visual artists in Newfoundland and Labrador. It was created to provide financial support for working visual artists who have reached a crucial point in their artistic career, to allow them to evolve their practice and develop their reputation and visibility within the art world.

“Cox & Palmer is delighted to congratulate Ethan on this well-deserved recognition,” said Leanne O’Leary, Managing Partner. “His work, and the meaningful motivation behind it, pays tribute to the relationship between people, places, and culture in Newfoundland. We are pleased that this grant will support Ethan as he develops ‘Eternal Return’ and pursues his career as a visual artist.”

“Eternal Return” will be an exciting next step in Ethan’s work and every aspect of his application demonstrated his investment in its success,” said this year’s jury. “Ethan obviously has big dreams for this project and a clear sense of its importance to the development of his practice as a whole. The jury was very pleased to award this year’s Pivotal Point Grant to this project.”

For media enquiries, please contact VANL-CARFAC’s Program Co-ordinator, Kristen Piercey, at vanlcarfac@gmail.com or (709)-738-7303.  

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For immediate release:

JOHN’S NL:  The fifteenth annual Excellence in Visual Arts Awards took place virtually on July 9th. The event was hosted by Emma Burry.  The EVA Awards are the only awards program solely dedicated to celebrating the work of the visual artists of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Emerging Artist Award honors the promising start made by an emerging visual artist in the early stages of their career.  The Emerging Artist Award 2021 went to artist Alex Antle from the community of
Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk (Bay of Islands,Newfoundland).

The Milestone Award celebrates a visual artist who has, in the last calendar year, achieved a significant milestone in their career, through exhibition or presentation, a breakthrough in their practice, or new and innovative exploration. This year’s Milestone Award went to St. John’s, Ktaqmkuk-based artist Kai Bryan.

The Mary MacDonald Award is named to honour NL’s beloved arts administrator, curator and writer Mary MacDonald, who passed away in 2017, and who demonstrated an unfailing belief and support for the work of artists and arts organizations as being absolutely necessary and essential to the wider community.  This award, thanks an individual or organization whose efforts have helped to sustain and build the visual arts sector.  The winner of this year’s Mary MacDonald Award is Union House Arts.   

The Critical Eye Award celebrates the best piece of critical writing about an NL artist in any print or online publication worldwide. This year’s winner of the Critical Eye is Bonavista Penninsula’s Jane Walker, for her piece “Keeping the Lights On: Will Gill, Pepa Chan and Mike Gough”

The Endurance Award recognizes the consistent dedication and commitment of an artist to their professional practice, and to sustained creative output and performance.  This year’s winner of the Endurance Award was artist Tara Bryan, who is receiving this award posthumously. 

For more information or to arrange interviews, contact Program Coordinator, Kristen Piercey at vanlcarfac@gmail.com or 709-738-7303.

The EVA Awards are a Visual Artists Newfoundland and Labrador initiative.

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VANL-CARFAC is pleased to present the first of two instalments of artist talks by the participants in our 2020-21 Mentorship Program.  Please join us via Zoom on June 17th at 8pm, where Jessica McDonald and Alex Antle will discuss their their work, their practices, and their experiences with the mentorship program.  Please click here to sign up via Eventbrite. A link to join will be sent prior to the event.

Jessica McDonald is a Textile Artist residing in St. John’s, NL. With a BFA in Interdisciplinary Studies from NSCAD University, she brings traditional craft to light through education, contemporary explorations, and process documentation. Jessica is passionate about community created through the act of making and the history in which it carries. 

Alex Antle (she/her) is an emerging L’nu beadwork artist located in Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk (Bay of Islands, Newfoundland). She has been learning and practicing beadwork for 4 years with the guidance of a community of Mi’kmaq beaders.  Alex’s art often explores the relationship between tradition and modern Mi’kmaq people. She is interested in living culture and the evolution of Mi’kmaq culture as well as the importance of the land and water. Alex has exhibited her work in galleries across Newfoundland and Labrador, participated in art festivals, and frequently shares her skill through beading workshops. 

The VANL-CARFAC Mentorship Program was created to provide opportunities for productive and supportive relationships between established professional artists and artists wishing to develop and enhance their practice. The mentors provide one on one encouragement, advice, information and resources to mentees, who are aiming to achieve specific professional goals. Funding for The program was drawn from the $120,000 Art in the Time of COVID fund established by ArtsNL to help the Newfoundland and Labrador arts community during the COVID-19 crisis