Sobey Art Award reveals female-dominated short list for $50K prize

Women dominate the field of this year's SobeyArt Awardshort list,announced Tuesday, holding four of the five spots.

The $50,000 prize one ofCanada's top prizes for contemporary artis given out each year to a contemporary artist under the age of 40.

Onenominee is selected in five different regions of the country, with the finalistswhittled down from an earlier long list.The award isCanada's equivalent to the Turner Prize in Britain, which recently dropped its age restriction.

This year's Sobey nominees are:

• Atlantic:Performance and installation artist Ursula Johnson
• Quebec: Photo artistandvideographer Jacynthe Carrier
• Ontario:Performance and video artist Bridget Moser
• Prairies and the North:Multimedia artist Divya Mehra
• West Coast and the Yukon: Photo and text-basedartist Raymond Boisjoly

Their work will be exhibited in Toronto at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, starting in late October.

The winner will be announced during a galaat the university on Oct.25. The exhibit continues through Dec.9.

Founded in 2002, the Sobey has been awarded to 13 prominent Canadian contemporary artists, including the late Inuk artist Annie Pootoogook.Last year's winner wasVancouver-born multi-mediaartist Jeremy Shaw.

Each finalist gets $10,000. Here's a closer look at this year's short list.

Ursula Johnson(Dartmouth, N.S.)

Johnson, who is of Mi'kmawFirstNation ancestry,specializes in performance and installation art. She incorporates her heritage into her art, which has included basket weaving. She was the first female Mi'kmawstudent to graduate from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

Johnsonhas previously been longlisted for the Sobey,but awin for her would be signficant: no artist from the Atlantic region has yet been awarded the prize.

JacyntheCarrier(Quebec City)

Carrier uses photography and video in her art, focusing on the relationship between people,where they live and the environment. She has a particular fascination for places that have been abandoned.Carrier has exhibited in galleries around Quebec and her videos have been shown at shows in the United States, Brazil and Europe.

In 2011, she won the Prix la cration artistique by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Qubec.

BridgetMoser(Toronto)

Moseris a performance artist, who works with video and a whole lot ofhumour. This includes prop comedy, absurd literature and intuitive dance. Her comedy is referenced in the names of her artworks, such asA Leaf That Tastes Like a Pencil,Local Snake Eats Own TailandFreak on a Leash for which she drank from a poodle-shaped watering can and flailed alongsidea waving, inflatable tube man.

Moser has exhibited at Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and has been an artist in residence at the Banff Centre.

DivyaMehra(Winnipeg)

Mehra uses sculpture, installation, video and drawing (among other media) to address"the long-term effects of colonization and institutional racism."She splits her time between Winnipeg, Delhi and New York, drawing inspiration and touching on the colonial roots of each place in her work.

Mehrahas exhibited in Canada, India andChina and taken part in showsin prestigious galleries, like New York'sMoMA PS1.

RaymondBoisjoly(Vancouver)

Boisjolyworks with photography and text. AnIndigenous artist of Haidaand Qubcois descent, he explores themes related to his heritage, juxtaposing it with pop culture.

Boisjoly has had solo shows at galleries in Ottawa, Seattle, London, Ont., and in his hometown of Vancouver, where he is represented by the Catriona Jeffries Gallery, a hub for contemporary art.