RBC Announces Finalists in 14th Annual RBC Canadian Painting Competition

TORONTO, June 27, 2012 /CNW/ - RBC and the Canadian Art Foundation today announced the 15 finalists in the 2012 RBC Canadian Painting Competition. As part of RBC's ongoing commitment to the arts, this competition recognizes and supports Canada's emerging artists.

The competition awards one national winner with a purchase prize of $25,000 and two honourable mentions, who each receive purchase prizes of $15,000. Winners will be announced in Toronto on November 29, 2012. With a total of $55,000 in prizes, the RBC Canadian Painting Competition offers one of the highest awards of any painting competition in Canada.

"This prestigious competition provides a national showcase for some of our country's most talented artists during the early stages of their careers," said Ann Webb, executive director, Canadian Art Foundation and publisher, Canadian Art magazine. "Each year, we see wonderful examples of our country's vibrant community of visual artists. Narrowing these gifted entrants down to 15 finalists has been a very tough challenge for our jurors - choosing a winner is going to be very difficult."

By region, the 2012 finalists are:

Western Canada

• Ahbyah Baker, Vancouver, BC
• Thomas Chisholm, Victoria, BC
• Jordy Hamilton, Vancouver, BC
• Andrea Kastner, Edmonton, AB
• Katie Lyle, Vancouver, BC

Central Canada

• Colin Muir Dorward, Ottawa, ON
• Aleksander Hardashnakov, Toronto, ON
• David Hucal, Guelph, ON
• Vanessa Maltese, Toronto, ON
• Jenna Faye Powell, Sarnia, ON

Eastern Canada

• Betino Assa, Montreal, QC
• Philip Delisle, Halifax, NS
• Nicolas Rancellucci, Montreal, QC
• Corri-Lynn Tetz, Montreal, QC
• Julie Trudel, Montreal, QC

"We're very proud to help discover and promote promising new artists and to provide them with financial support as they continue to develop their careers," added Robin Anthony, curator, RBC. "Congratulations to our 15 finalists for making this year's shortlist and we look forward to seeing their works in galleries across the country."

Submissions for this annual competition are accepted from professional, practicing visual Canadian artists who are in the first five years of their careers. The RBC Canadian Painting Competition is judged by some of the most respected artists, gallery directors and curators in Canada. A complete list of these jurors can be found at rbc.com/newsroom/2012/0523-painting-jury.html.

The 2012 winner and honourable mentions will be announced in Toronto on November 29, 2012. All 15 finalists' paintings will be on exhibit at the Power Plant in Toronto and featured at rbc.com/paintingcompetition.

In addition, the winning paintings of 2012 will join previous winning visual artists' works as part of RBC's Canadian art collection, which holds more than 4,000 works of art collected over the past century.

About the RBC Canadian Painting Competition

Established in 1999, the RBC Canadian Painting Competition recognizes and supports Canada's emerging artists. The competition nurtures Canadian visual artists early in their career by providing them with a forum to display their artistic talent to the country and hopefully open doors to future opportunity. The competition will award one national prize of $25,000 and two honourable mentions will receive prizes of $15,000 each. Along with past winners, the winning paintings of 2012 will become part of RBC's Canadian art collection comprised of more than 4,000 works of distinguished art collected over the past hundred years.