2021 marks the 89th for the province wide competition open to all Manitoba residents over the age of 16.
The OJCE 2021 awards of excellence honour these outstanding submissions:
JEAN WIENS AWARD FOR 1ST TIME OJCE EXHIBITOR
Established in 2021 by Cori Knight to honour her mother’s longtime commitment to the arts, and to encourage the participation of emerging artists in juried exhibits. this award recognizes an outstanding 1st time entry selected by the jury for an award of excellence.
WILLIAM J. BIRTLES AWARD FOR SCULPTURE
The William J. Birtles Award for Sculpture was established in 2017. Born and raised in Manitoba, Bill Birtles taught in northern and city schools in Manitoba, as well as in the U.K. He was always keen to promote the importance of art in the communities where he lived. Bill was an accomplished artist whose drawings, paintings and sculpture are in private and public collections in North America and UK. He took an active role in the Manitoba Society of Artists for many years and was a regular exhibitor at the Manitoba Open Juried Competition & Exhibition. To pay tribute to his life as an artist and art educator his family has established the William J. Birtles Award for Sculpture.
LYNN SISSONS WATERCOLOUR AWARD
The Lynn Sissons Watercolour Award was established by her family to honour long-time MSA member, Lynn Sissons, who passed away in 1985. The award is selected by the juror to be given to a work deserving of merit that demonstrates and promotes a traditional use of the medium. Therefore, the award favours works that are more representational than experimental in nature.
W. CLIFF PACKER MEMORIAL AWARD
The W. Cliff Packer Memorial Award was established in 2000 to honour and celebrate the life and work of Cliff Packer. The intent of the award is to pay homage to Cliff’s varied interests as an artist. The theme of the award is “for a work of art deserving of merit in the genre tradition”. Genre is a term used to describe paintings and other works of art that deal with an informal representation of everyday life.
Genre is not limited to a particular medium, it pays particular attention to work involving the human figure, and tends to be representational rather than abstract in nature.
BRIAN J. HYSLOP AWARD FOR PASTEL
The Brian J. Hyslop Award for Pastel was established in 2006 to honour and celebrate the life of MSA Board member, Brian Hyslop. The intent of the pastel medium award is to encourage artists to demonstrate their skills with original work in pastels.
Although Brian favoured landscapes, there is no jury advisory. It is their decision to choose the work of merit as they see fit.
BARBARA COOK ENDRES AWARD FOR FIRST PLACE
The Barbara Cook Endres Award for First Place was named in 2012 to honour Manitoba artist and long-time MSA member, Barb Endres, who was an unflagging supporter of the visual arts. Barb joined MSA in 1947 and served in various executive positions continuously until her retirement in 2008. She was designated an honorary member in 2006.
Upon her passing in 2010, she left a bequest to MSA, which allows a bursary to promising artist students. There is no stipulation attached to this award, it is therefore at the jurors’ discretion, The Best of Show.
