Prefix ICA » Andreas Rutkauskas: The Prefix Prize

May 5 to June 25, 2022

Andreas Rutkauskas
The Prefix Prize

Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art is excited to announce that the winner of the second annual Prefix Prize is Andreas Rutkauskas. A resident of Kelowna, B.C., Rutkauskas is a creative documentarian whose photographic projects typically feature landscapes marred by industrial and technological intervention. Juried by a panel of seven senior experts in contemporary photographic art, the prize is a core programme of the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival.

As the recipient of the Prefix Prize, Andreas Rutkauskas receives an exhibition, a publication and a cash prize of $2,000.00 CA. The exhibition, which is presented in Urbanspace Gallery, features selected photographs from After the Fire (2019, ongoing), a series inspired by the artist’s personal experiences with wildfire seasons of increasing intensity. The associated publication P.S.–2.2, which is the fifth in this series of exhibition catalogues produced by Prefix ICA, features an essay by Scott McLeod. Exclusively digital and entirely free, it is available for downloading from www.prefix.ca, effective May 30th.

The Prefix Prize is presented by Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art with the assistance of presentation partners, the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival, Tangled Art and Disability, and Underline Studio, as well as founding partner, Partners in Art.

The exhibition opens to the public on Thursday, May 5, 2022, at Urbanspace Gallery, located at 401 Richmond Street West, Ground Floor, Toronto. Gallery hours are from Tuesday to Saturday, 12 PM to 6 PM. Admission is free. The exhibition continues until Saturday, June 25, 2022.

The artworks in the exhibition are available for sale. The price list is available onsite at the gallery, or at www.prefix.ca.

About the artist
Andreas Rutkauskas is a photographic artist. He received a BFA from the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg) and an MFA in Photography from Concordia University (Montréal). His work has been exhibited in art galleries, museums and artist-run centres across Canada and internationally. The recipient of numerous residencies, including the Canadian Forces Artists Program, the Chilkoot Trail Artist Residency and the Banff Centre, he most recently completed the inaugural residency at the Fondation Grantham pour l’art et l’environment (Saint-Edmond-de-Grantham, QC). A research fellow with the Canadian Photography Institute, National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa) in 2018, he is currently a lecturer in Creative Studies, Visual Arts at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus.

About the Prefix Prize
Launched in 2021, the Prefix Prize is awarded annually to a photographic artist of any nationality. Designed to honour artists at any stage of their careers who have yet to receive the recognition they deserve, the prize consists of an exhibition, a publication and a cash award of $2,000.00.

The second annual prize was juried by seven senior photography experts drawn from the local, national and international communities, including Claire Dawson, co-founder and creative director, Underline Studio; Logan MacDonald, artist, curator, and assistant professor at the University of Waterloo; Scott McLeod, founding director, Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art; José Roca, artistic director, Flora Ars y Natura and the 23rd Biennale of Sydney; Tara Smith, programs director, Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival; and Jennifer Young and Caroline Laxton, co-chairs, Project Development, Partners in Art. In addition to choosing the recipient of this year’s prize, the jury recognized Ethan Murphy with an honourable mention. An artist from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Murphy explores the rural environment of his home province in the wake of the cod moratorium.

The third annual Prefix Prize will be awarded in May 2023.

Acknowledgements
For their support of The Prefix Prize, Prefix ICA gratefully acknowledges our host, Urbanspace Gallery; presentation partners, the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival, Tangled Art and Disability, and Underline Studio; and founding partner, Partners in Art. Prefix also gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Toronto Arts Council with funding from the City of Toronto.

Photo: Detail of “Mount Christie Wildfire” (2021) from After the Fire. Courtesy Andreas Rutkaskas.

For more information, please contact Prefix ICA at prize@prefix.ca.