One of B.C.’s most distinguished artists was recognized at the Vancouver Club downtown on Monday.
Stan Douglas received one of the biggest achievements within the Canadian arts industry, taking home a six-figure cash prize presented by the Audain Foundation.
The $100,000 prize for excellence in visual arts was awarded to Douglas for his creative photographic work.
A graduate from Emily Carr University of Art and Design, he is the first to receive the recently increased prize amount, which was previously $30,000.
"It is a great honour to be included with this group of other B.C. artists like Rodney Graham and the late Fred Herzog who have won the Audain prize," says Stan Douglas, in a news release.
Douglas is one of Canada's most celebrated contemporary artists and is best known for his photography, film and video installations.
He describes his work as resembling the complexities of social reality and history.
"The award raises the profile for visual arts in the city, which hasn't always had the highest profile even though we have really extraordinary artists who live and work here," says Douglas.
The Audain prize is one of three major annual Canadian arts awards to issue the winning recipient a six-figure reward.
"We increased the value of the Audain prize award because we want our leading artists to become better known. After all, British Columbia has some wonderful visual artists and many are not as widely recognized as they should be," says Michael Audain, in a news release.
"We have some of the world's best contemporary artists, yet is the average man or woman in B.C. aware of international artists like Jeff Wall or Stan Douglas?"
In addition to the Audain prize winner, the foundation also announced the funding of five $7,500 travel awards for students in university-level visual arts programs in B.C.
