The first Awards were made in 2007, and historically were made in years when funds had been available from the growing endowments, or been donated for specific annual awards.
Annual awards are made possible because of the generosity of our endowment donors. We thank them for their vision, commitment and support of Saskatchewan Artists.
2021 marks the first year the Foundation undertook it’s own adjudication process by establishing a multidisciplinary Jury-panel to award 7 Awards of $5000 to each award recipient.
These awards are supported in part by the Named Endowment Funds and the Operating Endowment Fund.
Nathan Coppens (Saskatoon) – The Colleen Bailey Memorial Fund
“I am an actor, musician, composer, and puppeteer raised on Treaty 4 and living on Treaty 6, in the land now called Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I obtained my BFA in Acting from the University of Regina and am a graduate of the Globe Theatre Conservatory. My creative practice focuses on using music and theatre to advance dialogues centering social causes. I’m particularly interested in neurodiversity and mental health. Through my work, I strive to tell the story of my own adventures with mental illness while also providing a voice and space for those more marginalized than I.
As an actor working with Dancing Sky Theatre, Globe Theatre, Souris Valley Theatre, Dumb Ax/Live Five, and Wide-Open Theatre, among others. As a musician I’ve worked on several productions with companies across the prairies and have written music for Wide Open Theatre (SAT Award nominee for Music Composition), the University of Regina, Dancing Sky Theatre, and Girl Friday Productions.
Over the last few years, I have begun a journey of discovery related to ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). The project I am proposing in this grant application will frame my story and the stories of others with ADHD through the lens of a one-person, multi-character production featuring an original script and musical score. As theatres recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, it is imperative that we don’t return to normal. We can be better than the normal we had before. It’s time for mental health and ADHD to take centre stage.”
AYESHA MOHSIN (Regina) – The Harry Nick Kangles Fund
Ayesha Mohsin is a Pakistani Canadian artist. She immigrated from Pakistan to pursue her post secondary education, almost 6 years ago.
During her Theatre and Performance Bachelor’s degree at the University of Regina, Ayesha saw the lack of diversity in Regina’s theatre community. She felt that if she wanted to tell her story in her language then she must develop the platform herself. She founded Lexeme Theatre and Media company. Lexeme is Regina’s immigrant language theatre and media company; Lexeme has successfully produced many multilingual projects in Regina.
Ayesha Mohsin has always been interested in storytelling and how it brings different cultures together. Ayesha is an Interdisciplinary MFA candidate at University of Regina. Her travels around the world has given her the opportunity to understand different languages and how it affects the traditional arc of storytelling.
ZOË SCHNEIDER (Regina) – The Jane Turnbull Evans Fund for the Arts
Zoë Schneider (she/her) is based in Regina, Treaty 4 Territory, Saskatchewan, Canada. Schneider works in sculpture, video, and installation to critically examine the complexity of fat identity. Schneider holds an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan (2018), and a BFA from the Alberta University of the Arts (2009). In Canada Schneider has exhibited in Regina, Saskatoon, Estevan, Guelph, Mississauga, Lethbridge, and internationally in Denmark, Germany, and the United States.
She will begin an exploration into the Renaissance and Contemporary understanding of the Grotesque to challenge the anti-fat biases of the contemporary imagination. This work is comprised of a large sculptural work for inclusion in the ‘In my Skin’ exhibition at the Dunlop Art Gallery in Spring 2022
JINGLU ZHAO (Saskatoon) – The Jane Turnbull Evans Fund for the Arts
After receiving her MFA degrees from China and Japan, Jinglu taught Visual Art at ChengDu University in China. She moved to Canada in 2013 and has focused her energy on raising her three young children. Over the past eight years, Jinglu realized the experience of raising children with cross-cultural communication is also an extension of the central theme of her paintings.
“My art explores the relationship among me and my children as we grow, play, and discover the world with our identity. I create acrylic/oil paintings that combines figuration, landscape, and images from my children’s First Nations and Chinese heritage and further develop my style, skill, and concepts. Eight years of motherhood and life in a new country has influenced me as an artist in ways that I am eager to realize and express. I am especially interested in painting my children, because they are unburdened by the pressures of the adult world, and they represent less controlled expression.”
PATRICK FERNANDEZ (Regina) – The Shurniak Fund
Patrick Fernandez is a contemporary visual artist who lives and works in Regina, Saskatchewan. A native of Pangasinan, Philippines, his colourful paintings use symbolism and reimagined folklore imagery as a means of storytelling. His works are based on personal experiences that deal with displacement and adaptation, using circumstances as turning points for growth.
Fernandez’s artwork has been widely shown in exhibitions in the Philippines and in Asia, including his 4th solo exhibition “Nowhere” at Pinto Art Museum in Antipolo City, Philippines. Since coming to Regina in 2017, He already presented 2 solo exhibitions in The Woods Art Space which include “HOME” in September 2018 and “LUNTIAN (Green)” in 2020. As an active artist in the community.
“The concept of the new bodies of work that I am developing for exhibit over the next year. The exhibition is inspired by the “Bahala Na” culture that is prevalent in the Filipino society. To many Filipinos the general approach to life is of acceptance. ‘Bahala na’ (come what may) which captures the strong belief among many Filipinos that whatever may happen is a part of God’s will. Any individual or group success is often attributed to fate or God rather than efforts. This indicates a fatalistic attitude throughout society whereby Filipinos are generally accepting of theirs and other circumstances. As an immigrant, it is very common concept that “fate brought us here” and the most common outlook of “bahala na” / “come what may” attitude is prevalent to anyone. The project aims finds parallels within culture to create better understanding of each and everyone’s’ disposition in life.”
JEFF NACHTIGALL (Regina) – The Shurniak Fund
Jeff Nachtigall art practice spans 3 decades. His multi disciplinary approach includes a variety of mediums including painting, sculpture, printmaking and photography as well as curating, writing and community-based projects. As a first generation Canadian his work often explores identity, place and culture in a playful and subversive manner. He has exhibited widely across Canada and the United States, and his work can be found in numerous public, corporate and private collections.
He has led dozens of residencies across Canada, and regularly lectures and facilitates workshops in communities and institutions across Canada and the United States. Talented artist and gifted facilitator, he has combined his gifts to be a top-notch teaching artist. He is equally committed to both artistic excellence and inclusivity, and the artistic work that emerges from his participants, as well as the positive impact on their lives, is a testament to that.
Nachtigall has been profiled in numerous articles and documentaries, most notably in the National Film Board of Canada’s feature-length film A Year at Sherbrooke. He is a sought-after speaker and has presented the keynote address and contributed to numerous conferences and symposiums, including his critically acclaimed TEDx talk on the transformative power of art in healthcare.
“I’m producing a body of work that explores the tropes of modernism and juxtaposes intuitive mark making and formalism. Since finding myself back in my home province I’ve become aware of the exotic in my backyard. This body of work will be exhibited in Regina and Winnipeg in the late spring of 2022.”
MELANIE ROSE (Regina) – The Cameco Endowment for Indigenous Artists
Melanie Monique Rose is a visual artist from Regina, Saskatchewan Treaty 4 Territory, and a long-time contributing member of Sâkêwêwak Artists’ Collective Inc. She attended Kootenay School of the Arts with a major in the Fibre Arts in Nelson, B.C. Rose has exhibited her artwork in both group and solo exhibitions Nationally. Her greatest honor was to receive the distinction of Excellence in Textiles in Dimension’s 2013 touring show. Most recently, Melanie was named a CBC Future 40 for her work in arts and culture. In addition to showing her work, Rose has worked in the province as gallery facilitator, story-keeper, and art instructor for the Mackenzie Art Gallery. She also teaches various workshops at both public and private institutions.
In 2018, her daughter Meadow Rose was born and is currently a full-time mom, caregiver, and artist. Becoming a mother has increased Rose’s desire to share the stories of her culture and family and has challenged the way she creates independently and as a shared experience with her daughter. Rose is inspired and excited to see where the journey takes her as an Artist.