Two New Brunswick artists to be honored
The Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation is pleased to name Jennifer Belanger and Ann Manuel as recipients of a 2016 Marie Hélène Allain Fellowship Awards. Established in 2014, this $10,000 award is given to honor New Brunswick mid career artists who have distinguished themselves in the last ten years of professional practice and who have proposed a significant body of new work to be undertaken during the fellowship year. Awards are made based on the recommendation of an independent jury of arts professionals. The Board of Directors gratefully acknowledges the work of Katie Belcher, Peter Dykhuis and Kevin Rice in the 2016 adjudication process.
Jennifer Belanger is a Moncton based artist deeply engaged with the creation, curation and exhibition of art in Atlantic Canada. She had made significant contributions as both an educator and arts administrator and is a recognized leader in the printmaking community. She has an extensive exhibition record and maintains a rigorous daily art practice. In recommending Ms. Belanger for this award, the jury noted the innovation and challenge of her proposed Fellowship year dedicated to a return to drawing.
Currently working from Fredericton and St. Andrews, Ann Manuel is a printmaker, painter and arts community activist. Her substantial exhibition record reflects a profound engagement with spiritual, historical and ecological investigations of life through art. A disciplined art practitioner, Manuel’s proposed Fellowship focus will be a deeply nuanced land art project which was articulated with a scientific clarity.
Both artists will be presented with the $10,000 prize at a ceremony on March 31, 2016 at the Aberdeen Cultural Centre in Moncton by Marie Hélène Allain, in whose honor this award was named.