Join us at The Polygon Gallery on Tuesday, May 21, at 7pm to celebrate with the finalists of the 2019 Philip B. Lind Emerging Artist Prize. At 8pm, the winner will be announced, and will receive $5,000 toward the commissioning of a new artwork to be exhibited at The Polygon in 2020.

Established in 2016, the Philip B. Lind Emerging Artist Prize is awarded annually to an emerging BC-based artist. In past years, nominations were limited to students enrolled in a BFA or MFA program working in the mediums of film, photography, or video. For 2019, the program has expanded to also include emerging artists working outside of academic institutions. This year, over 50 candidates were nominated, who were then shortlisted by a jury, to 11 finalists.

The jury was comprised of writer and art collector Claudia Beck, Nanaimo Art Gallery curator Jesse Birch, and BC artist Liz Magor, who will reconvene the day of the award to choose the winner. The 11 finalists include Claire Geddes Bailey, Evan Berg, Roxanne Charles, Garnet Dirksen, Jessica Johnson, Aaron Leon, Christian McGinty, Lilian Rose Smith, Ryan Stella, Weronika Stepien and Ran Zhou.

Following the award, the finalists' work will remain on view at The Polygon Gallery, from May 17, to June 9, 2019.

Image: Aaron Leon, from the series Altered Landscapes