JANUARY 3, 2027
Submissions open
May 31, 2027 8pm PDT
Submissions close
Week of July 19, 2027
Finalists Announced
September 25, 2027
Exhibition and voting opens
October 15, 2027
Voting closes
October 16, 2027
Winners announced
The Parallel Art Show (PAS) is a juried competition of Southern Gulf Islands artists that runs concurrently with SSNAP. Artists from the Southern Gulf Islands who submit to SSNAP are automatically eligible for PAS. The Parallel Art Show jury selects approximately 50 finalists from which the PAS winners are chosen. PAS winners are announced at the SSNAP Gala Awards Night.
Chosen by the Jurors.
1st prize – $3,000 2nd prize – $2,000 3rd prize – $1,000
To be eligible, an artist must have submitted to SSNAP, met the SSNAP entry requirements, and reside primarily on one of the Southern Gulf Islands.
An artwork accepted into SSNAP is not eligible for the Parallel Art Show.
There is no additional submission fee for the Parallel Art Show.
2027/28
Elizabeth Nolan has been the Artcraft Gallery Manager for the Salt Spring Arts Council since September 2021, following many years reporting on local arts and culture for the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper. Her writing earned numerous community newspaper awards at the national and provincial levels, including gold in Arts & Culture writing in 2019 for a series on Salt Spring’s maturing arts scene. Her passion for supporting the island arts community has also led to work with many other local institutions.
Elizabeth completed an honours degree in English/Cultural Studies at McGill University. She received her Master’s degree from Simon Fraser University in the School of Communication in 2004, with a thesis focussing on women filmmakers in Vancouver and the “ceiling” placed on women artists and auteurs. She and her family have lived on Salt Spring since 2003.
Jesse Birch is a curator, writer, educator, and artist who was born and raised on Snuneymuxw territory (Nanaimo, BC). Jesse has lived and worked in Vancouver, Seoul, Kyoto, and Amsterdam, and in 2014, he returned to Vancouver Island to reconnect with his home community as Curator of Nanaimo Art Gallery. Jesse holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (Photography) from Emily Carr University, a Master of Arts degree in Art History (Critical and Curatorial Studies) from the University of British Columbia, and he is an alumnus of the Curatorial Program at De Appel Arts Centre in the Netherlands. He sees curating as both a profession and a collaborative practice that brings artists and artworks into relation with people, places, and histories.
Leah McDiarmid is the owner/gallery director of the Tofino Gallery of Contemporary Art. The gallery made its debut in June 2021 and is the recipient of the 2025 Tofino Chamber of Commerce ‘Small Business of the Year’ award. Representing 35 Canadian contemporary artists in painting, sculpture & photography, the gallery has garnered an appreciative following for its thoughtful curation of unique artworks in a wide range of mediums. Leah is Vice President of the Tofino Arts Council and founder of West Coast Visions, an annual juried art show sponsored by Tofino Arts Council.
View our 53 finalists from the Southern Gulf Islands.