cheyanne turions Wins 2014 Award for Emerging Curator of Contemporary Canadian Art

OTTAWA, ON and TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - March 02, 2015) - The Hnatyshyn Foundation and TD Bank Group announced today that cheyanne turions is the recipient of the Award for Emerging Curator of Contemporary Canadian Art. The award is presented to a Canadian curator, under the age of 35, whose body of work has achieved a public presence and peer recognition. The recipient of this award is eligible for a $10,000 grant to help pursue his or her professional development. The award was presented during a reception at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto.

cheyanne turions is an independent, Toronto-based writer and curator.

"Her curatorial vision stands out for being highly considered and articulated, ‎as well as being relevant, provocative, risky and ambitious," said curator Daina Augaitis.

In turions' words, "[My] work approaches the space of exhibition as alive -- the gallery is a space of dialogue where artists, curators and publics can reflect on and experiment with ways of seeing (and being)."

"Congratulations to turions for her impressive career to date -- and to the many other inspiring submissions from young curators for this award," said Pamela Meredith, Senior Curator, TD Bank Group. "As a dedicated supporter of arts and culture in Canada, we're committed to creating opportunities for young people to embrace and pursue their passion in the arts."

The jury was impressed with turions' breadth of work, its intelligence, and sensitivity. Summary of highlights include:

• Most recently she co-curated the series Canadian Ecstasy with poet and performance artist Ariana Reines at Gallery TPW and reviewed the Kuwait Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture for C Magazine.
• Her exhibition at the Art Gallery of Windsor, Other Electricities, was presented the inaugural award for Innovation in a Collections-based Exhibition by the Ontario Association of Art Galleries in 2014.
• She has presented other curatorial projects at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Video Fag, SBC Gallery, Nuit Blanche (Montréal), Art Metropole, A Space, Gallery TPW, the Images Festival, VIVO Media Arts and the Western Front.
• Her writing has been published by Monte Cristo Magazine, the Blackwood Gallery, General Fine Arts, Prefix Photo, Syphon, the MacLaren Art Centre, Gallery 44, the Museum of the Near Future, FUSE and Canadian Art.
• Currently she is a member of the co-creative team for the Art and Society theme within the Cities for People project and works as a Curatorial Assistant at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery while pursing a master's degree in Visual Studies at the University of Toronto.
• She also sits on the Board of Directors for Fillip Magazine and is the director of No Reading After the Internet (Toronto).

turions was selected by a jury of arts professionals, including Daina Augaitis, Chief Curator/Associate Director at the Vancouver Art Gallery and recipient of the 2014 Hnatyshyn Foundation Award for Curatorial Excellence; Reesa Greenberg, art and exhibition historian based in Ottawa; and Pamela Meredith, Senior Curator, TD Bank Group, Toronto.

About TD Community Giving
TD Bank Group invests in communities in order to affect positive change in the places where it operates and where its customers and employees live and work. In 2014, TD donated more than $82 million to community organizations in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. In Canada, TD focuses on education and financial literacy, creating opportunities for young people and the environment. For further information, please visit www.td.com/corporate-responsibility.

About The Hnatyshyn Foundation
The Hnatyshyn Foundation is a private charity established by the late Right Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn, Canada's twenty-fourth Governor General, to assist emerging and established artists in all disciplines with their schooling and training, and promote to the Canadian public the importance of the arts in our society. Since 2005, the Foundation has awarded over $1.1 million to emerging and mid-career artists, curators and performing artists in Canada. Its programs are funded by contributions from governments, including the Government of Canada through Canadian Heritage, foundations, corporations and individuals. Information about the programs of The Hnatyshyn Foundation is available at the Foundation's website www.rjhf.com. 

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