toh

OTTAWA – June 20, 2023 – As part of enhancing care through restorative art in partnership with the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG), winners of the inaugural TRIAS Art Prize now have their artwork displayed at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH). The works have recently been installed at the General Campus where they will be enjoyed by patients, staff, and visitors until they reach their permanent home at The Ottawa Hospital’s New Campus Development.  

TOH and OAG awarded five prizes in three categories for the 2022 TRIAS Art Prize:   

Art and Science Residency: Svetlana Swinimer, Brain Matters

• Swinimer was matched with Dr. Michael Schlossmacher for a three-month residency to explore his neuroscience research through art. In the work, Brain Matters, the viewer can walk inside the brain and watch its changes after the attack of Parkinson’s disease.

Indigenous and Inuit Healing Art Award winner: Koomuatuk (Kuzy) Curley, Sikusilingmiut

• Sikusilingmiut (People of sea ice and weather) is made of northern stone and represents the artist’s relationship with their ancestors – the Inuk with labrets and arnait with tattoos – and the animals and environment.

Honourable Mention: Christine Toulouse, Courage

• The materials in this piece were seasonally hand harvested and processed. Both quillwork and harvesting techniques are skills passed down to her by various Elders in her community and surrounding area.

Art as Healing winner: Andrew Morrow, Neither Brightly Lit Nor Completely Enlightened

• The piece represents the experiences of a community coming together through painting in a process of connection, healing, and renewal during the isolating time of the pandemic.

Honourable Mention: Jovita Akahome, Soul

• The piece focuses on themes of culture, individual identity, and the way that individuals define their relationships within their community.

TRIAS Art Prize is a juried art competition that intersects art, science, medicine, and community. TRIAS is part of the Creative Wellbeing project, a city-building partnership with a vision to add artistic expression to the healthcare experience and to build awareness across Ottawa of the unique relationship between art and science as it relates to healthcare.

Ottawa residents Jennifer Toby and Dr. François Auclair, who have been integral to Creative Wellbeing since its inception, created the inaugural TRIAS Art Prize in 2022. Funding for the TRIAS Art Prize was provided by the North Star Foundation. The Indigenous and Inuit Art is Healing Award was supported by the Lawson Foundation.