News Releases

Fourteen Student Artists From Across Canada Win Top Awards at BMO Art Competition

At a special reception to be held later today, BMO Financial Group will recognize fourteen winning artists in the fourth annual BMO 1^st Art! Invitation Student Art Competition.

The national winner receives $3,000 and regional winners each receive $1,500. Their works, selected from 146 entries from every province and territory across Canada, will be installed in BMO Financial Group offices from coast-to-coast, joining one of the country's most prestigious corporate art collections that includes historical and contemporary Canadian masters such as Kenojuak Ashevak, Emily Carr, Tom Forestall, Marc-Aur�le Fortin, Lawren Harris and others.

“It's incredibly exciting to be exposed to the best of Canada's newest generation of artists just as they are embarking on their careers,” said Dawn Cain, BMO Financial Group Curator. “With titles such as Hurricane Miles, Boomcity, Dance of Life, Sanikiluaq's Way of Hunting and The Naughty Secretaries' Club, the winning artwork for 2006 vividly demonstrates the diversity of the artists and their communities.”

2006 BMO 1^st Art! 2006 National Winner:

Emily Gove, Toronto, ON, Sheridan College & the University of Toronto joint Art & History program

Regional Winners:

Sonya Adams, Saskatoon, SK, University of Saskatchewan

Anders Algotsson, Dawson City, YK, Klondike Institute of Arts and Culture

Andrew Bennett, Hunter River, PEI, Holland College

Shelagh McHugh Cherak, Calgary, AB, University of Calgary

Laura Dutton, Montreal, QC, Concordia University

Meghan Flight, Labrador City, NL, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College

Takashi Iwasaki, Winnipeg, MB, University of Manitoba

Diana Grace Kryski, Carp, ON, University of Toronto

Haydex Li, Coquitlam, BC, University of British Columbia

Sarah Novalinga, Sanikiluaq, NU, Nunavut Arctic College

Mary Okheena, Holman, NWT, Aurora College

Amanda Rhodenizer, Halifax, NS, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design

Shanie Stozek, Fredericton, NB, New Brunswick College of Craft and Design

“On behalf of BMO Financial Group, a long-time supporter of the arts in Canada, I congratulate these incredibly talented artists,” said Gilles Ouellette, President & CEO, Private Client Group, BMO Financial Group and Deputy Chair, BMO Nesbitt Burns. “Fostering young and emerging artists is an important part of this competition and we are proud to shine the spotlight on these outstanding graduating students to help give them the early recognition they deserve.”

As the only national graduating artist competition, the BMO 1^st Art! Invitational Student Art Competition is a celebration of the excellence of Canadian art students from post-secondary institutions across Canada. Deans and instructors of undergraduate certificate, diploma and degree programs in visual art are invited to select three students from their graduating classes whose ability and imagination place them first among their peers. A distinguished panel of judges chooses an overall national winner and one winner from each province and territory.

Mr. Ouellette and Ms. Cain served as selection committee members for the fourth annual BMO 1^st Art! Competition, along with art luminaries Jessica Bradley, Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Fine Arts at York University and Director and Curator, Jessica Bradley Art Projects; David Liss, Director and Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art; Joanne Tod, international artist, lecturer and painting instructor at the University of Toronto; and Michel Viau, President, Ove Design and Communications Ltd.

Opening reception

The artists will be recognized at a special reception where their winning artwork will be on display.

When:

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Where:

First Canadian Place Gallery

100 King Street West, Toronto

The artwork will be on display in the First Canadian Place Gallery until November 10, 2006. All the winning pieces can also be viewed on BMO Financial Group's website at: http://www2.bmo.com/content/0,1263,divId-7_langId-1_navCode-4094,00.html

Since 1817, BMO Financial Group has believed in community reinvestment and corporate and social responsibility to the communities it serves. BMO Financial Group contributed $ 29.5 million in corporate donations, sponsorships and events in 2005, supporting thousands of communities, charities and not-for-profit organizations in Canada.

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