Sarah Petite
Amanda Fauteux
The Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation is delighted to distinguish the unique accomplishments of two New Brunswick mid-career artists, Amanda Fauteux and Sarah Petite. Based on the recommendations of an independent, professional jury, both artists have been selected to receive 2022 Marie Hélène Allain Fellowship Awards of $10,000. As part of its mandate to promote the visual arts in New Brunswick, the SHMF biennially offers the Marie Hélène Allain Fellowship Awards as a recognition of the career accomplishments of New Brunswick mid-career artists, currently engaged in the exploration or the deepening of creative endeavour.
The Board of Directors acknowledges the expertise, professionalism and generosity of the esteemed members of the 2022 jury panel, Peter Laroque, Freeman Patterson, Jennifer Stead, Their support of the foundation’s independent jury system is the bedrock of the foundation’s awards program.
In their recommendations, the jury praised the professional excellence of both artists, who are working in different media and in widely different artistic practices. They praised the foundation for its ongoing support of diverse artistic practices and its recognition of the contribution of contemporary visual artists to our collective cultural discourse.
The jury was both intrigued and impressed by Amanda Fauteux’s collaborative approach and the international scope of her proposed new work for exhibition at Te Atamira, Tāhuna Queenstown, Aotearoa, New Zealand. The eloquence of her previous projects indicated that she could create a meaningful interpretation of the impacts of colonial capitalism, especially the movement of people and the vestiges of their interactions on the landscape. In addition, the project will examine linkages with the travels of historical New Brunswick artist, John Hammond, who worked in the gold fields of New Zealand in the 1860s, giving added emphasis to the nearness of interconnections abroad. Her proposal also planned for the development of a new working technique, dry stone construction, which promises a significant evolution of her work.
The jury was convinced by the accomplishments and developments evidenced in the proposal of artist Sarah Petite, supported as it was by the eloquence of her succinct and eloquent artist’s statement. The artist’s perseverance in discovering new directions through considered engagement with her materials and process, reveal a practice that contributes to and is in discourse with modernist painting traditions. Sarah’s recent explorations in the reconciliation of painting and sculpture reveal objects that embody her creative experience and explorations, and suggest she is in an expansive period in her work.
The 2022 Marie Hélène Allain Fellowship Awards will be presented at a summer celebration marking the 35th anniversary of the Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation on August 26th, at Kingsbrae International Residence for the Arts in St. Andrews.