“As a long-time collector and passionate advocate for artists, being selected as a juror for the Salt Spring National Art Prize is a deep honour” – Dr. Kenneth Montague

Check out this feature on SSNAP 2025 Jurist Dr. Kenneth Montague in the newest issue of Preview Art Magazine.

Expanding Its Support for Artists, Salt Spring National Art Prize Celebrates 10 Years

by Michael Turner
 

Since its inception in 2015, the Salt Spring National Art Prize has expanded from a juried biannual exhibition of submitted artworks to an ongoing, unofficial festival that includes public talks, educational outreach and inclusive community-building initiatives. In 2017, SSNAP added the Parallel Art Show (PAS) for residents of the Southern Gulf Islands; in 2024, it partnered with the Wilding Foundation to create the Catalyst Grants program – a commissioning competition available to visual artists in the Southern Gulf Islands and Indigenous artists for whom the Southern Gulf Islands are ancestral territories.

“Salt Spring has been an art, guild and craft colony for decades,” says 2023/24 PAS juror and Pod Contemporary manager-curator Helen Mears. “SSNAP adds another layer of investment in the island’s cultural scene. Having SSNAP and PAS on at the same time, the viewer gest to look at art created from different sets of stimuli from across a broader spectrum. The Catalyst Grants add another level of support to the already existing grants such as AiR [Artist in Residence] and the Susan Benson grants, through Salt Spring Arts [Council].”

An especially notable feature in the evolution of SSNAP is its juries. This year’s judges Mireille Eagan, Dr. Heather Igloliorte, Sarah Milroy and Dr. Kenneth Montague hail from coast to coast to coast, and points in between. Although all are distinguished in their field, it is Montague whose path is most unique, building his world-renowned Wedge Collection of African Canadian and diasporic art, and forming the non-profit Wedge Curatorial Projects while practising dentistry.

“As a long-time collector and passionate advocate for artists, being selected as a juror for the Salt Spring National Art Prize is a deep honour,” Montague told Preview. “Art for me is a reflection of the world around us, an expression of our joys and struggles, and a celebration of both the ordinary and the exceptional. Sometimes when I see an artwork I can hear music. In other moments, I sense a profound quietude. Art moves me like that.”