The finalists for the 2022 Nova Scotia Masterworks Award have been announced Art + Culture | Halifax, Nova Scotia
The Nova Scotia Masterworks Award just released its 2022 shortlist. The largest cultural award in the province, the Masterworks Award sees a jury of experts select the best works of art in a variety of mediums—evaluating originality, artistic maturity, impact and their contribution to Nova Scotia. From a shortlist, one artwork will win the grand prize, a $22,000 purse (although all three finalists are guaranteed to walk away with $3,000 each).
This year, a film, an illustrated book and a painting are being judged as the best of the best.
The film in question is Shelley Thompson’s feature debut Dawn her father and the tractora story of a trans woman’s quest to reconnect with her rural family that wowed critics at the 2021 FIN Atlantic International Film Festival—and went on to score a wider theatrical release.
The painting is Nungki, by artist Darcie Bernhardt. Bernhardt has been making a name for herself for several years in the Halifax visual art scene, having shown their work at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in a joint show with longtime Sobey Art Award artist Letitia Fraser. Best known for capturing memories of their upbringing in the Northwest Territories, Bernhardt’s work is celebrated as an exciting expansion of portraiture, depicting Inuk peoples at culturally significant moments and through an anti-oppressive domestic lens.
Rounding out the ballot is Sydney Smith Small in the city, a children’s book that follows a young child’s explorations of their hometown on a snowy day. The first book written and illustrated by Smith, it has emotional resonance beyond its K-2 reading level—as evidenced by its 2019 Governor General’s Award win.
The winner of the 2022 Masterworks Award will be announced on November 10, as part of the Creative Nova Scotia awards celebration. The ceremony will be held at Alderney Landing at 6.45pm.