Toronto, February 20, 2024 – Emmanuel Osahor is this year’s recipient of the Laura Ciruls Painting Award. The $7,000 award is given annually to recognize an Ontario based mid-career painter.
About Emmanuel Osahor
Born in Nigeria, Emmanuel Osahor lives and works in Toronto. He holds an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Guelph (2021) and a BFA in Art and Design from the University of Alberta (2015). His work has been presented in multiple solo and group exhibitions and is held in multiple collections. He is an Assistant Professor of Studio Art at the University of Toronto Scarborough.
Emmanuel Osahor’s practice engages with beauty as a necessity for survival and a precursor to thriving. Through a rigorously playful inquiry into materials and image making processes, his works depict garden spaces as complicated sanctuaries within which manifestations of beauty and care are present.
“It is a sincere honor to be this year’s laureate of the Laura Ciruls Painting Award and join the company of outstanding Canadian painters who have received this honor over the years.” states Emmanuel Osahor. “I am grateful for Laura Ciruls’ bequest and the support it continues to provide for painters in this province.”
About the Award
The Laura Ciruls Painting Award was established by Laura Ciruls, a professional graphic and web designer, as well as an acrylic and watercolour painter. Through a bequest, Laura set up the Laura Ciruls Painting Award, to recognize artists like herself, who were contributing to the development of painting in Ontario.
The Ontario Arts Foundation manages the endowment that funds the award. The Ontario Arts Council is responsible for the selection process. The award recipient is selected through the Ontario Arts Council’s peer assessment process from the applicants to one of the two annual Ontario Arts Council Visual Artists Creation Projects (Mid-career category) program deadlines.
Previous award winners include Miguel Hernandez Autorino (2022), Roberto Rosenman (2021), and Mike Gough (2020). See the full list of previous recipients.
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For information, please contact:
Bruce Bennett, Executive Director
Ontario Arts Foundation
Tel: (416) 969-7413 bbennett@oafdn.ca
Established in 1991, the Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2022-2023, the OAF paid over $4 million in endowment income and $450,000 in awards and scholarships.
For 60 years, the Ontario Arts Council has played a vital role in promoting and assisting the development of the arts and artists for the enjoyment and benefit of Ontarians. In 2022-2023, the Ontario Arts Council invested $55.9 million in 220 communities across Ontario through 2,269 grants to individual artists and 1,023 grants to organizations.
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