The Contemporary Art Award comes with a $10,000 grant, while the MNBAQ will purchase up to $50,000 of Morin's work and feature it in a solo exhibit. A publication of her works will be issued after the exhibition, placing the total value of her award at $100,000.
"Not only am I the award's first winner, the combination of the grant, solo exhibition and publication make it a truly unique prize," says Morin. "This is a big achievement for me. I don't make art with the intent of winning awards, but when it happens it's great."
On her technology-themed installations, Morin says: "I'm interested in understanding technology better and putting technology in connection with a variety of different things to enhance that understanding."
Morin fondly recalls her Concordia education. "It was amazing - all the teachers were really supportive. I produced a lot of artwork while I was there," says Morin.
Also in February, Morin was also awarded the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec's work of the year for the Montreal region for her piece Imbrication (machine à reduire le temps). The prize came with a $5,000 award.
She iss also winner of the Canada Council for the Arts 2011 Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award for extraordinary achievement by a mid-career artist.
Morin's solo exhibition will appear at the MNBAQ in spring 2015; the publication will soon follow.
Fine Arts graduate wins first-ever Contemporary Art Award from Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
Diane Morin, MFA 03, has been honoured for her daring artworks that explore human relations to computers and robots. Morin is the recipient of the first-ever Contemporary Art Award - the first prize of its kind in Canada.
Art installation by Diane Morin | Photo credit: Diane Morin
The award from the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ), in Quebec City, was announced on February 5, 2014. It recognizes outstanding mid-career Quebec artists.
"I've never worked with a museum before," Morin says. "I've worked with galleries over the past 15 years, so this award really brings everything to another level."
The jury for the Contemporary Art Award, which selected five finalists in fall of 2013, included François Morelli, professor and director at Concordia's Department of Studio Arts. The jury singled out Morin's "large-scale and spectacular works."
