[Bcma-l] Media Release Kamloops Art Gallery - Daphne Odjig Wins Governor General's Award

[bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca]

MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release from
Kamloops Art Gallery

March 28, 2007

Daphne Odjig wins
Governor General’s Award

Daphne Odjig with Governor General Michaëlle Jean and

Kamloops Art Gallery Executive Director Jann LM Bailey at Rideau Hall

The Kamloops Art Gallery is delighted to announce that Daphne Odjig has 
been selected as one of this year’s winners of the Governor General’s 
Awards in Visual and Media Arts. The Gallery, which has a long-standing 
relationship with Ms Odjig, nominated her for the award. Executive 
Director Jann LM Bailey traveled with Odjig to Ottawa this week for the 
presentation at Rideau Hall.

The Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts, funded and 
administered by the Canada Council for the Arts, recognize distinguished 
career achievement in the visual and media arts by Canadian artists, as 
well as outstanding contributions to the visual and media arts through 
volunteerism, philanthropy, board governance, community outreach or 
professional activities. 2007 marks the eighth annual presentation of 
these prestigious awards.

“My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I congratulate the recipients who 
wholeheartedly broaden our horizons through the unique power of 
creation. You continuously open our eyes to everything that is beautiful 
in the world and we thank you for that,” said the Governor General.

Daphne Odjig is one of Canada’s most celebrated Aboriginal painters and 
printmakers. Born on Manitoulin Island’s Wikwemikong reserve of 
Pottawatomi and English heritage, she first learned about art-making 
from her grandfather, Jonas Odjig, a tombstone carver who taught her to 
draw and paint. She later moved to British Columbia. Odjig’s style, 
which underwent several developments and adaptations from decade to 
decade, is always identifiable. Mixing traditional Aboriginal styles and 
imagery with Cubist and Surrealist influences, Odjig’s work is defined 
by curving contours, strong outlining, overlapping shapes and an 
unsurpassed sense of colour. Her work has addressed issues of 
colonization, the displacement of Aboriginal peoples, and the status of 
Aboriginal women and children, bringing Aboriginal political issues to 
the forefront of contemporary art practices and theory. The jury 
described Daphne Odjig’s work as “groundbreaking,” noting her unique 
voice and her role as a “real champion” of Aboriginal artists. She 
currently lives in Penticton, but lived for many years in Anglemont, not 
far from Kamloops.

Canada Council Chair Karen Kain said this year’s awards are especially 
significant for two reasons: the value of the awards has been increased 
from $15,000 to $25,000, and the Saidye Bronfman Award – Canada’s 
highest honour for craft artists for the past 30 years – is now one of 
the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts. “We are 
delighted that we were able to make these enhancements to the awards 
during the Canada Council’s 50th anniversary year,” she said. “The 
creation of these awards in 1999 was a landmark event in the Canada 
Council’s history, and they are now firmly established among the most 
prestigious honours awarded to Canadian artists.” In addition to the 
cash prize, the winners will be presented with original artworks created 
by New Brunswick ceramist and sculptor Peter Powning, winner of the 2006 
Saidye Bronfman Award.

The other seven award winners are Ian Carr-Harris, Aganetha Dyck, R. 
Bruce Elder, Murray Favro, and Fernand Leduc, who, along with Daphne 
Odjig, received awards for artistic achievement, ceramist Paul Mathieu, 
who received the Saidye Bronfman Award for excellence in the fine 
crafts, and David P. Silcox, who receives the outstanding contribution 
award for his work as a writer, educator, cultural administrator and 
arts volunteer.

-30-

Please direct all media inquiries to James Gordon, Marketing and 
Communications Coordinator, Kamloops Art Gallery, (250) 377-2403, or 
jgordon@kag.bc.ca <mailto:jgordon@kag.bc.ca>