The Edmonton Arts Prizes

These prizes celebrate artists from a range of art forms and practices, recognizing their work, and investing in their continued experimentation and creation.

With the shared aim to enhance Edmonton's reputation as a hub for extraordinary creation in the arts, the prize program is coordinated by the Edmonton Arts Council, in partnership with the City of Edmonton and our community partners: Alberta Media Production Industries Association, Alberta Music, Audreys Books, CARFAC Alberta, Edmonton Community Foundation, and Writers' Guild of Alberta.

The Edmonton Arts Prizes

• Robert Kroetsch – City of Edmonton Book Prize in partnership with Audreys Books, and the Writers’ Guild of Alberta
• City of Edmonton Music Prize in partnership with Alberta Music
• City of Edmonton Film Prize in partnership with the Alberta Media Industry Association
• The Eldon + Anne Foote Edmonton Visual Arts Prize in partnership with the Eldon + Anne Foote Fund at the Edmonton Community Foundation, and CARFAC Alberta

The partners are committed to their shared vision for the Edmonton Arts Prizes as a program that is inclusive of a wide range of artistic practices and welcomes the contributions of artists from multiple communities, backgrounds and traditions. We envision the arts prize categories growing in future years to include a greater diversity of arts disciplines.

SHARED ELIGIBILITY AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA FOR THE EDMONTON ARTS PRIZES:

• Eligible artists/​recipients must be 18+ and a resident of the greater Edmonton region / amiskwaciy-waskâhikan. The greater Edmonton region is defined as the City of Edmonton, the Counties of Sturgeon, Parkland, Leduc and Strathcona, and the communities of Enoch Cree Nation, Alexander First Nation, Paul First Nation, and Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation.
• Prize recommendations in each discipline will be based on an evaluation of the artistic merits of a specific work, or collection of work, by a knowledgeable group of peer assessors.
• Assessors will be charged with basing their decisions on the artwork's merits, including originality, creativity, relevance, and technical excellence. In all cases the prizes will attempt to recognize the highest standards of artistic achievement, regardless of the artist's particular mode of expression, or style within the genre.

In the case of equivalent merits, the assessors will be encouraged to consider the work in the context of the (in order):

1. Artist’s career

2. Relevant tradition(s), and arts practice in Canada

3. Representation of the demographic diversity of Edmonton's population 

4. Representation of the diversity of artistic expression or styles within the discipline

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 3PM Monday JANUARY 19, 2026

PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED IN THE SPRING OF 2026

Eldon + Anne Foote Edmonton Visual Arts Prize recognizes artists, based on a single artwork shown in the Greater Edmonton area in the previous calendar year prior to the deadline. An eligible visual artwork can be any object or installation publicly displayed, regardless of size, style, medium or materials.

The Eldon + Anne Foote Edmonton Visual Arts Prize was established with the generous support of the Eldon + Anne Foote Fund at Edmonton Community Foundation and in partnership with the Edmonton Arts Council and CARFAC Alberta.

This prize is open to Edmonton area artists nominated by an individual or gallery/organization located in the Greater Edmonton area (Greater Edmonton, as defined by the Edmonton Community Foundation, includes the City of Edmonton and its four surrounding counties and indigenous communities.

Entries may be in any visual arts media and must have been shown in a Greater Edmonton area exhibition space during 2025 (January 1st, 2025 - December 31st, 2025) or in an online exhibition during that same time period. Submissions are judged by an independent jury selected by CARFAC Alberta. Submission deadline is Monday January 19th, 2026 at 3pm. The prize winners will be announced at a ceremony in spring 2026.

PRIZE: One winning artist will receive a $15,000 cash prize. Two additional shortlisted artists will receive $5,000 each in cash prizes.

Submission Prerequisite

• In order to facilitate the gathering of data and review of the program, all nominated artists must also have a current profile on the Edmonton Arts Council's online portal: https://eac.smartsimple.ca 
• Artists must confirm this by providing the email address used to register on the SmartSimple portal in these nomination forms.

Submission Guidelines and Rules

• Work submitted must be created by an artist living in the greater Edmonton area. Work produced by multiple artists is eligible if a majority of the participating artists are based in the greater Edmonton area.
• The artist(s) must be nominated by an Edmonton area individual or gallery/organization which showed at least one work by the artist(s) between January 1st, 2025 - December 31st, 2025. No individual or gallery/organization may nominate the same artist(s) two years in a row, even for a different body of artwork. Previous recipients of the Prize are not eligible for re-nomination for three years following their prize year.
• Any individual or gallery/organization can nominate the exhibited work by the artist(s)
• Work submitted must have been shown in the Greater Edmonton area during, OR shown online between January 1st, 2025 - December 31st, 2025.
• Work submitted may be in any visual arts media including, but not limited to: painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography and installation.
• If, in the opinion of the jury, no work submitted merits an award, no award will be given. In all cases, the jury's decision is final.

Submission Procedures

Submissions must be digitally submitted, mailed, or hand delivered to CARFAC Alberta and received by 3:00pm on Monday January 19, 2026. Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered. If any help is required in the submission process, please contact CARFAC Alberta by January 15ᵗʰ, 2026.

Submissions must include:

1. A Nomination Form (page 2 of this form)
2. A written description of the specific work nominated and an explanation of why this work has been nominated above all other eligible works. The written description portion can be completed by the artist, but an individual or gallery/organization representative must describe why this work/exhibition was chosen above all other eligible works, perhaps commenting on how the work engaged the community (three pages maximum; saved as artist last name WD; example: smithWD
3. Digital images or a short video of the artist(s) art work (see Submission Checklist for file requirements)
4. Artist(s) CV or comprehensive Biography (three pages maximum); saved as artist last nameCV
5. Digital images or a short video of the art work in the exhibition space (see Submission Checklist for file requirements)
6. One representative digital photographic image of the nominated art work (for publicity purposes), may be uploaded by the Artist to the Declaration Form; saved as artist last nameRI
7. An Artist(s) Declaration Form (go to Form)

Acceptable file formats

We will accept files in docx, doc, .rtf, .jpg or .pdf formats. Video files must be Windows compatible, in .avi, .mov, .mpg, mpeg or .mp4 format, viewable with QuickTime, Windows Media Player or VLC. Video can be a maximum of 1 GB file size.

Mac Users

Submissions must be readable for Windows therefore ensure that Mac OS formats are exported. MAC OS Keynote and Pages can export presentations and documents to Windows PowerPoint and Word formats respectively. In either program, choose Export To from the File menu, select either Power Point or Word, checking 'Advanced Options' and selecting pptx or .docx file extensions.

Exporting from Pages to Word and/or Keynote to Powerpoint 

Single Link Download

We will accept submissions in the form of a link to a file-hosting service (ie, DropBox, Google Drive, etc The link must point to a single .zip archive of all relevant submission documents that can be downloaded by simply clicking said link. We will not accept any submission hosted on a website that requires CARFAC Alberta to become a member of a service, any submissions requiring CARFAC Alberta to sign in to a service to download, or submissions in archive formats other than .zip.

Submission Criteria

Awards will be based on the jury's evaluation of the art works artistic, historical and social merit. The jury may take into account their perception of the work in the context of the artist's career, in the context of relevant artistic tradition(s), and in the context of the practice of visual art in Canada. In all cases the jury will recognize exemplary art work, regardless of the artist's particular mode of expression. If, in the opinion of the jury, no art work in the competition merits an award, no award will be given. In all cases, the jury's decision is final.

The submission deadline for completed nominations is Monday January 19, 2026 at 3pm by mail, hand delivered, or email to:

general@carfacalberta.com (Subject line: Foote Prize Submission) 

CARFAC Alberta, 2nd Floor, 11759 Groat Rd NW Edmonton, AB T5M 3K6

For hand delivery: The building is open 8:30am-4:30pm Monday to Friday. (CARFAC Alberta opens at 9:30am). Closed to the public all statutory holidays and weekends.

To reach CARFAC Alberta by phone 780-421-1731 toll free 1-866-421-1731

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES CHECKLIST:  

Submitted through jotform:

• A completed Nomination Form (page 2 of this form)
• Signed Artist Declaration Form

Remaining Submission components to be compiled on a USB flash drive or single-link:

• A written description of the specific work nominated and an explanation of why this work has been nominated above all other eligible works. The written description portion can be completed by the artist, but an individual or gallery/organization representative must describe why this work/exhibition was chosen above all other eligible works, perhaps commenting on how the work engaged the community (Three pages maximum; saved as artist last name WD; example: smithWD
• A CV or comprehensive Biography of the artist(s). Please include artist(s) website information here, if applicable (three pages maximum, saved as artist last name CV; example: smithCV)

The CV and written description documents can be saved as docx, .doc, .rtf, .jpg or .pdf files. If you are submitting on a USB flash drive, please enclose one printed copy of these documents with the flash drive. In addition to the above documents, please include in the USB flash drive or single-link download:

• One representative digital photographic image of the specific nominated work (for publicity purposes only) Must be saved as a jpeg file at 300dpi and sized to approximately 8" X 10" or 10" X 8" (saved as artist last nameRI; example: smithRI) Will not be viewed by jury. *The image file may also be added directly to the Artist Declaration Form.

• 5-10 digital images of the artist(s) artwork saved as a Powerpoint presentation, with artwork details (title, media, size, creation date) included on each slide (saved as artist last name PP; example: smithPP)

OR

• A five minute video of the artist(s) artwork. (saved as artist last name V; example: smithV). Video is only required for temporal works such as video, performance, moving sculpture etc. It is not required for static works like painting, still sculpture, drawing, printmaking etc.
• An additional five minute video

OR

• 5 - 10 digital images showing the nominated artwork in situ to give the jurors a good sense of the work in its exhibiting space.Digital images must be saved in a Powerpoint presentation, with artwork details (title, media, size, creation date) included on each slide (saved as artist last name GS; example: smithGS

Please Note: Additional support materials will not be sent to jurors. Adhere to image guidelines and submit only the requested submission documents.

Artist street addresses must be located in the greater Edmonton area or in the case of an artist group the majority of the artists must be residents of the greater Edmonton region

This Nomination form must be received along with the following supporting documentation, refer to page 1 for full details:

1. A written description of the specific work nominated and an explanation of why this work has been nominated above all other eligible works (three pages maximum; see Submission Checklist for options
2. A CV or comprehensive biography of the artist(s) (three pages maximum
3. Digital images or a short video of the artist(s) work (see Submission Checklist for file requirements
4. Digital images or a short video of the work in the nominating gallery space (see Submission Checklist for file requirements
5. One representative digital photographic image of the nominated work (for publicity purposes
6. An Artist(s) Declaration Form signed by the artist

by 3pm, Monday January 19th, 2026

CARFAC Alberta general@carfacalberta.com (addressed as Foote Prize nomination)

2nd Floor, 11759 Groat Rd NW Edmonton, AB T5M 3K6

780-421-1731 toll free 1-866-421-1731