Carving out a piece of the artistic pie: U of M alumna Solange Roy awarded with the BMO 1st Art! art prize
The Manitoban, October 25, 2022 themanitoban.com
A portrait of success: Two SOVA students celebrate BMO 1st Art! awards
Yukon News, October 13, 2022 yukon-news.com
Halifax artist Ivan Flores wins provincial prize in BMO 1st Art! competition
The Coast, October 4, 2022 thecoast.ca
Making a mark in the art world
What's Up Yukon?, October 5, 2020 whatsupyukon.com
20 Questions with Corner Brook artist Kathleen Elliott
The Chronicle Herald, October 4, 2020 thechronicleherald.ca
Graphic Design graduate wins award
Holland College, September 30, 2020 hollandcollege.com
Yukon artist’s work featured in national exhibit
Yukon News, September 29, 2020 yukon-news.com
Artist discovers blueprint for success
Winnipeg Free Press, September 25, 2020 winnipegfreepress.com
Yukon ‘snow artist’ wins 18th annual 1st Art! contest for her work
Humber News, September 23, 2020 humbernews.ca
Rey Tatad talks winning BMO 1st Art! for Saskatchewan
CTV Morning Live Regina, September 18, 2020 regina.ctvnews.ca
Art student wins competition with blue prints
Winnipeg Free Press, September 18, 2020 winnipegfreepress.com
The best art shows to see in Toronto this fall
NOW Magazine, September 18, 2020 nowtoronto.com
5 Good Things That Happened in Calgary
Avenue Calgary, September 18, 2020 avenuecalgary.com
Matt Cripps reps New Brunswick in BMO 1st Art! win
Created Here – Jerry-Faye Flatt, September 18, 2020 createdhere.ca
Alberta University of the Arts Grads Win Prestigious
BMO 1st Art! Competition
Alberta University of the Arts, September 18, 2020 auarts.ca
Arctic College student scores $7.5k art prize with
‘Finding Hope’ necklace
QIA Blog, September 18, 2020 qia.ca
Calgary arts students scoop national prizes
Calgary Herald, September 17, 2020 calgaryherald.com
OCAD U grad regional winner at BMO 1st Art! competition
OCAD University, September 17, 2020 ocadu.ca/news
NAC Student wins art prize for Nunavut
Nunavut Artic College, September 17, 2020 arcticcollege.ca/newsletter
Favron wins BMO art award
CBC Airplay with Dave White, September 16, 2020 cbc.ca/listen
5 questions with… OCAD’s Tian Cao winner of BMO 1st Art! competition
Hye's Musings, September 16, 2020 hyemusings.ca
‘A Day in the Life’ with digital/technical artist Tian Cao
Toronto Guardian, September 16, 2020 torontoguardian.com
Calgary Artist Simone Saunders Wins BMO 1st Art! Contest
Galleries West, September 16, 2020 gallerieswest.ca
BMO 1st Art! Returns to Celebrate Canadian Artists in its First Ever Virtual Exhibition
Canadian Insider, September 15, 2020 canadianinsider.com
U of M student wins big in Canada-wide competition
The Manitobian, September 15, 2020 themanitoban.com
News briefs for September 15, 2020
Winnipeg Free Press, September 15, 2020 winnipegfreepress.com
Gjoa Haven jeweller wins art prize for Nunavut
Nuntsiaq News, September 15, 2020 nunatsiaq.com
Albertan wins in BMO 1st Art!
CBC Radio Active, September 15, 2020 cbc.ca/listen
NSCAD grad wins big award from BMO art competition
Global Morning News Halifax, September 15, 2020 globalnews.ca
2019
Sobey Art Award: Artists 2020
National Gallery of Canada, April 2020
BMO 1st Art! national winner Luther Konadu is on the longlist of for this year’s Sobey award gallery.ca
Interview/Feature with Preston Pavlis
The Griff, January 8, 2020 thegriff.ca
BMO 1st Art Competition
ARTORONTO, November 21, 2019 artoronto.ca
BMO 1st Art! Exhibition 2019
Akimbo, November 21, 2019 akimbo.ca/listings
BMO 1st Art: Banking on the Success of Emerging Artists
The Artist and the Viewer, November 21, 2019 theartistandtheviewer.com
Winnipeg-based artist receives national art prize for portrait work
Winnipeg Free Press, October 25, 2019 winnipegfreepress.com
UTSC artist fuses art and technology into award-winning piece
University of Toronto SC, October 4, 2019 utsc.utoronto.ca/news-events
Mount Allison graduate wins BMO 1st Art competition with series of photographs documenting eroding coastlines.
The Argosy, September 25, 2019 since1872.ca/arts-culture
Iqaluit artist Kaleigh Rose Tagak wins top prize
Nunavut News, September 6, 2019 nunavutnews.com
Iqaluit art student wins BMO art prize
Nunatsiaq News, September 4, 2019 nunatsiaq.com
BMO 1st Art! results
The Buzz, August 30, 2019 buzzpei.com
SOVA grad named Yukon winner of 2019 BMO 1st Art! Competition
Yukon News, August 29, 2019 yukon-news.com
Cheyenne Rain LeGrande Wins BC Prize in the BMO 1st Art! Competition
ECUAD, August 28, 2019 ecuad.ca/news
Alberta winner of the 2019 BMO 1st Art! Competition
CBC Radio Active, August 28, 2019 cbc.ca/listen
Cheyenne Rain LeGrande Wins BC Prize in the BMO 1st Art! Competition
Education News Canada, August 28, 2019 educationnewscanada.com
Halifax artist Séamus Gallagher wins national 1st Art! competition
The Coast, August 18, 2019 thecoast.ca/ArtAttack
Interview with Robyn McLeod, Yukon winner
CBC Airplay with Dave White, August 15, 2019 cbc.ca
Lauréate en arts visuels - Charline Dally est la lauréate régionale pour le Québec du 17e concours 1res Œuvres! de BMO.
Actualites UQAM, August 14, 2019 actualites.uqam.ca
Artwork by U of M grad earns top BMO prize
University of Manitoba, August 13, 2019 news.umanitoba.ca
BMO 1st Art! Competition Recognizes Fresh Perspectives from Emerging Canadian Artists
Yahoo! Finance, August 12, 2019 finance.yahoo.com
Cheyenne Rain LeGrande wins B.C. prize for BMO 1st Art! emerging
The Georgia Straight, August 12, 2019 straight.com/arts
Winners of 2019 BMO 1st Art! Competition
Galleries West, August 8, 2019 gallerieswest.ca/news
2018
BMO 1st Art! Competition Spotlights 13 Emerging Artists from Across Canada:
press release, July 24, 2018 press release
2017
Interviews with winning artists at 2017 BMO 1st Art! Exhibition watch video
Nunavut Arctic College art student’s creations merit BMO award
Nunatsiaq Online, August 11, 2017
An Iqaluit art school student has won the Bank of Montreal BMO 1st Art! award for Nunavut. nunatsiaqonline.ca
SOVA student honoured with First Art! award
CBC Radio One Yukon: Airplay, August 15, 2017
Interview with Kayza Degraff-Ford. soundcloud.com/cbcyukon
Queen's grad wins Ontario art award
Kingston Whig-Standard—Ashley Rhamsey, August 17, 2017
This year, Ontario’s prize-winning piece is Overripe, a painting by Queen’s
University fine art student Jessica Peterson. www.thewhig.com
Canada’s Brightest Young Artists Celebrated in 15th Annual BMO 1st Art! Competition
Klondike Sun, August 23, 2017
Feature on BMO 1st Art! winner Kayza Degraff-Ford.
Queen’s grad takes home provincial art award
Queen’s Journal—Pamoda Wijekoon, September 8, 2017
When Jessica Peterson was first told she had won the BMO 1st Art! competition
for Ontario for her artwork Overindulgence, her immediate reaction was
panic. “Oh my god,” she remembered, “I left [the painting] in a barn!” queensjournal.ca
NSCAD grad Annabel Biro Represents N.S. Nationally
Chronicle Herald—Tim Arsenault, September 28, 2017
The recent NSCAD University graduate is this year’s regional winner for Nova
Scotia in the 1st Art! competition, an annual event sponsored by BMO
Financial Group that’s in its 15th year. thechronicleherald.ca
Wine and food festival marks 20th birthday
Calgary Herald—Michele Jarvie, September 30, 2017
A Calgary grad is among the winners of a national arts competition.
Corner Brook artist Lauren Brinson’s tin can phone piece translates into an award
Corner Brook Western Star—Gary Kean, October 1, 2017
Lauren Brinson knew she had a good shot at winning, but to get the nod for a
prize chosen from among her classmates is an absolute thrill. thewesternstar.com
“Small Talk” Wins Big: Local Artist Lauren Brinson Earns National Recognition
The OverCast—Eva Crocker, October 5, 2017
Recent Grenfell graduate Lauren Brinson has been named a regional winner of
the 2017 BMO 1st Art! award for her piece “Small Talk.” The annual award
recognizes excellence in visual arts by post-secondary students from all
across Canada. theovercast.ca
Robert Amos: The varied landscape of local art
Victoria Times Colonist—Robert Amos, October 8, 2017
The Bank of Montreal Financial Group’s 15th annual BMO 1st Art! competition
honours visual arts excellence in post-secondary institutions from coast to
coast. National winner of the BMO 1st Art! competition is Xiao Xue, and
B.C.’s regional winner is James Fermor, both recent graduates of the
University of Victoria. timescolonist.comarticle (pdf)
Former SOVA student evokes Prairie childhood in award-winning artwork
Yukon News—Jackie Hong, October 19, 2017
DeGraff-Ford, who did a one-year program at SOVA from September 2016 to
April 2017, was the 2017 regional winner for the Yukon, which, on top of
being part of the Toronto showing, comes with a $7,500 prize. yukon-news.comarticle (pdf)
N.B. Graduate selected as regional winner in national art competition
Bell Media New Brunswick—Brad Perry, October 16, 2017
A New Brunswick College of Arts & Design graduate is one of 13 winners
in a national art competition that honours visual arts excellence in
post-secondary institutions. iheartradio.ca
Small Talk, Big Phones: MUN Graduate wins BMO 1st Art! Competition
The Muse—Natalie Dignam, October 16, 2017
Have you ever use two cans and some string to make a “phone” when you were a
kid? Lauren Brinson, a recent graduate of Memorial’s visual arts program,
made the grown-up version in her interactive sculpture, Small Talk. Two
18-inch cans that fit over your head literally surround you with the voice
of the person on the other end, and may even bring you back to the days of
hanging out with your best friend from down the street. themuse.ca
Harnessing Success In Scraps Of Failures
The Manitoban—Olivia Michalczuk, October 19, 2017
University of Manitoba school of art alumna Chelsey Thiessen was selected as
the regional winner for a national art competition. themanitoban.com
P.E.I. graphic artist regional winner for digital print
CBC Radio One's Mainstreet P.E.I.—Gail Harding, October 20, 2017
A recent graduate of the graphic design program at Holland College was the
P.E.I. regional winner in a national art contest for his digital print
titled, A Year in Review. www.cbc.ca/news
BMOo 1st Art! honours gifted art students across canada with significant investment and gallery exhibit
She Does The City—Jen McNeely, October 25, 2017
We love BMO 1st Art! It is an annual initiative that not only honours and
celebrates young artists in Canada but also grants its winners a
game-changing monetary investment: BMO will reward twelve regional winners
with $7,500, and one national winner will receive $15,000. For emerging
artists trying to support themselves and establish their careers, this award
can make a huge difference. shedoesthecity.com
Interview with Annabel Biro (Radio)
News 95.7, Sheldon MacLeod Show—Sheldon MacLeod, October 26, 2017
In-studio interview with Annabel around her provincial win.
Holland College grad Aidan Searle is regional winner
The Buzz PEI—Staff, October 30, 2017
Holland College graduate, Aidan Searle, is this year’s regional winner for
the province of PEI for his submission, A Year In Review, a digital print
depicting his financial, cognitive, and social triumphs and struggles during
a year of life. buzzon.com
Interview with Audie Murray (Radio)
CBC Radio One, The Morning Edition Saskatchewan, November 3, 2017
Interview with Audie around her provincial win.
BealArt grad among BMO prize winners
London Free Press—Joe Belanger, November 6, 2017
Annabel Biro, 23, who graduated from Nova Scotia College of Art & Design
University last spring, is one of 13 artists being honoured in the 15th
annual BMO 1st Art competition. lfpress.com
Annabel Biro: Beal grad won major art prize
Newstalk 1920 London—Staff, November 7, 2017
In-studio interview with Annabel Biro about her London roots and provincial win.
Queen's grad wins Ontario art award—interview with Jessica Peterson
The Kingston Whig-Standard, August 17, 2017 thewhig.com
Nunavut Arctic College art student’s creations merit BMO award:
Anne Qammaniq-Hellwig’s
headbands receive top Nunavut honour
Nunatsiaq Online, August 11, 2017 nunatsiaqonline.ca
