Congratulations to artists asinnajaq and Leisure!
The Contemporary Art Galleries Association (AGAC) and the Ville de Montréal gathered tonight to present the Pierre-Ayot and Louis-Comtois Awards. Over a hundred people attended the event at the Chaufferie in UQAM’s Coeur des sciences to honor the winners and finalists. This year, the prestigious visual arts awards were presented to asinnajaq and Leisure (Meredith Carruthers & Susannah Wesley).
“Montreal is a city where creativity shapes our identity and our future. Through the Pierre-Ayot and Louis-Comtois Awards, we affirm our commitment to supporting artists—emerging and established alike—who push the boundaries of creation and enrich our cultural landscape. These distinctions are not only forms of recognition: they are catalysts for artists’ careers and markers of our dedication to promoting contemporary art. We are proud of this collaboration with AGAC and determined to continue fostering the arts and culture, which are essential to the quality of life in Montreal.”, said Andréanne Moreau, Executive committee member, Responsible for culture, heritage, design, and the french language.
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asinnajaq
Pierre-Ayot Award Winner
Word from the selection committee
“asinnajaq’s work clearly demonstrates her purpose as an artist. The jury found her multidisciplinary body of work both immersive and eloquent in the way it weaves narratives about land and water, defends our living environments, and engages with Inuit communities.”
We also wish to acknowledge the outstanding work of the two finalists for the Pierre-Ayot Award, Maggy Hamel-Metsos and My-Van Dam.
asinnajaq works through observation, by living attentively and listening to the experiences that mark or transform. Her practice is rooted in a family lineage—an inheritance of curiosity, ingenuity, and playfulness passed down through both her maternal and paternal lines. For asinnajaq, the reason to live and create is simple: to do her best to have the best life possible and to pass on to future generations the tools and means to continue living. Life is a collaboration, and that is also her aim as an artist.
The Pierre-Ayot Award promotes the excellence of new visual art creation in Montreal, supports the representation of young artists in the city’s galleries and artist-run centres, and recognizes the efforts of exhibitors who encourage early-career artists. A $5,000 grant and a $2,500 budget for the organization of a solo exhibition in Montreal are offered to the winner. The Ville de Montréal also acquires a work from the award recipients for its art collection.
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Leisure
Louis-Comtois Award Winners
Word from the selection committee
“According to the jury, Leisure deserves widespread recognition. Since 2004, the collaborative practice of Meredith Carruthers & Susannah Wesley has raised pertinent questions about representation, museums, and the systemic frameworks and norms of the art world. Each project is an invitation to engage with a performative and relational research practice that opens up to voices still too often absent or excluded from art and its institutions.”
Artists Chun Hua Catherine Dong and Malena Szlam were also finalists for the Louis-Comtois Award.
Leisure is a collective founded in 2004 by Montréal-based artists Meredith Carruthers and Susannah Wesley. Their research-driven practice explores feminist cultural history, working through friendship, and children’s right to creativity. Their solo exhibitions include Chrysalis and Butterfly (Optica, 2025), Having Ideas by Handling Materials (Oakville Galleries, 2023), and How one becomes what one is (Musée d’art de Joliette, 2018). Wesley and Carruthers are currently working on a collaborative PhD, creating a new precedent at Concordia University.
The Louis-Comtois Award recognizes a mid-career artist and highlights the quality of his or her production in the field of contemporary art in Montreal over the past 15 years. The prize is accompanied by a $7,500 grant and a $2,500 budget for the organization of a solo exhibition in Montreal. The Ville de Montréal also acquires a work from the award recipients for its art collection.
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“AGAC warmly congratulates the award-winning artists! These excellence awards not only highlight the outstanding quality of their work but also help enhance their visibility. Supporting our local artists remains an essential and collective responsibility, one we are proud to uphold through the Pierre-Ayot and Louis-Comtois Awards. Our partnership with the Ville de Montréal is at the heart of this mission, and we are deeply grateful for the trust they place in us year after year.”, said Anie Deslauriers, Director of the Contemporary Art Galleries Association.
The jury tasked with selecting the artists consisted of five visual arts professionals: Milly A. Dery (General and Artistic Director, Darling Foundry), Ariane De Blois (Contemporary Art Curator, Musée d’art de Joliette), Anne Roger (Curator of the Desjardins Collection), Cheryl Sim (Director and Chief Curator, PHI), and Jonathan Shaughnessy (Director of Curatorial Initiatives, National Gallery of Canada).