News Release
B.C. ARTIST WINS PRESTIGIOUS MOLSON PRIZE
OTTAWA -- Vancouver visual artist Ian Wallace has won a Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize.
The prize, worth $50,000, is one of two Molson prizes that are awarded yearly to distinguished Canadians, one in the arts and the other in the social sciences or humanities.
The prizes recognize the recipients’ outstanding lifetime achievements and ongoing contributions to the cultural and intellectual life of Canada.
“Ian Wallace’s achievements are another example of the impact B.C. artists are having nationally and internationally,” said Kevin Krueger, Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts. “Arts and culture play a key role in making B.C. such an attractive place to live, work and visit, and of the achievements of artists like Ian Wallace help make this province the best place on Earth.”
“The BC Arts Council is proud of Ian Wallace as his achievements,” said Jane Danzo, Chair of the BC Arts Council. “We applaud the Canada Council for recognizing this important B.C. artist and his significant body of work.”
Wallace taught at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design from 1972-1998 and has contributed to the development of contemporary Canadian visual art for over 40 years. Beginning by making minimalist paintings and sculptures from industrial materials in 1967, he continued on to produce experimental photo-related works.
Wallace has a broad artistic practice that extends to film and literature overlaid by his knowledge of art history and critical theory. He is an experimentalist and an innovator who explores new technology and mediums which in turn bring new approaches to the visual art genre.
Wallace also publishes critical texts in exhibition catalogues, anthologies and art magazines. His writing often addresses key issues in contemporary culture and is formative in the interpretation of contemporary art.
Wallace previously won the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2004.