2009 was a busy and successful year. Here is a brief round-up of the news highlights of the past year.

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Mayor’s Award of Distinction, Contemporary Visual Art, Halifax Regional Municipality

Modeled after the national RBC Painting Competition, this competition was open to emerging artists in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), and was juried by a panel of regional visual arts professionals.

An exhibition of five short-listed candidates for this award took place from April to June 2009 at the HRM City Hall. My pieces Data Mine, Core and Bouquet were exhibited along with pieces by four other candidates, Daniel Hutchinson, Jonathan Johnson, Ivan Murphy and Hannah Minzloff.

At the conclusion of the exhibition, it was announced that I had been selected as the winner of the $10,000 first place award, with Daniel Hutchinson and Jonathan Johnson receiving honourable mention prizes of $5000 each.  As part of the award, the city purchased Data Mine, along with pieces by Hutchinson and Johnson, for the municipal permanent collection.

See also DalNews June 30, 2009.

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Emerging Artist of the Year, 2009, Visual Arts Nova Scotia

In October 2009 I received the Emerging Artist of the Year award from Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS). The award “recognizes an emerging artist who, in the early stages of his career, demonstrates exceptional talent and accomplishments as well as a unique artistic expression and a commitment to the arts.”

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Jurors’ Choice Award for piece in National Juried Drawing Exhibition, White Water Gallery

In November 2009, my pieces Data Cluster 3 and Replica were included in the First Annual National Juried Drawing Exhibition at the White Water Gallery in North Bay, Ontario. I received a Jurors’ Choice Award for Data Cluster 3. The exhibition was juried by Amanda Burk and Derek Liddington and was on display from November 14 to December 12, 2009. A catalogue is forthcoming.

Juror Amanda Burk commented on my work on her website, calling Data Cluster 3 an “intense and wonderfully involving piece.” Says Burk, “From the moment I unpacked his colourful meticulous pieces, I couldn’t take my eyes off them.”