Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries Award and Nominations
We’re delighted to share that the catalogue for our exhibition Worlds on Paper: Drawings from Kinngait won the Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries Award for Art Publication of the Year, 2025. The exhibition’s curator, Emily Laurent Henderson, writes:
“I’m thrilled to see Worlds on Paper: Drawings from Kinngait recognized with this award. This work represents the collective research, knowledge, and storytelling of the multitude of contributors that have graciously shared their perspectives on rarely seen works on paper from the community of Kinngait during the second half of the 20th century.”
In addition to this award, several McMichael publications and exhibitions were nominated this year. These nominations speak to the dedication, creativity, and scholarship that guide our work, and we are honoured to see the efforts recognized by our peers.
Worlds on Paper: Drawings from Kinngait
The recent digitization of the Kinngait Drawings Archive—a collection of 90,000 works held by the McMichael for more than three decades—has allowed unprecedented curatorial access to the origins of this now-world-renowned graphic tradition. Bringing together decades of extraordinary drawings, the publication offers readers a sweeping visual record of innovation, imagination, and lived experience in the Arctic. Through its essays, interviews, and beautifully reproduced artworks, the book makes a vital contribution to understanding the depth and range of Kinngait’s drawing traditions.
Contributions by Susan Aglukark, Kyle Aleekuk, Mark Bennett, Napatsi Folger, Jamesie Fournier, Janice Grey, Jonas Laurent Henderson, Jessica Kotierk, Nicole Luke, Malayah Maloney, Jocelyn Piirainen, Krista Ulujuk Zawadski, and others bring rich and nuanced perspectives, further enlivening the holdings of the Archive.
In addition, Emily Laurent Henderson’s opening essay, “Dreaming Forward,” was nominated in the Curatorial Writing category. Nuanced, compassionate, and deeply informed, the essay illuminates the creative legacy of Kinngait’s drawing traditions while foregrounding the intergenerational visions that continue to shape this vibrant community.
Derek Sullivan: Field Notes
Nominated by Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries for Exhibition of the Year (Budget Under $20,000), Monographic, Field Notes highlighted a recent body of work by the Toronto-based artist Derek Sullivan. John Geoghegan, the McMichael’s curator, oversaw the exhibition and catalogue that grew from Sullivan’s twelve-month site study of Shift, a work of Land art by the American sculptor Richard Serra that’s been long secluded in a field in King, Ontario, north of Toronto.
Featuring a suite of Sullivan’s signature large-scale drawings shown alongside objects and ephemera gathered during his research visits to the Serra sculpture, Field Notes offered a thoughtful meditation on Shift—its history, its cultural resonance, and its evolving place within today’s landscape.
John Scott: Firestorm
The exhibition catalogue for John Scott: Firestorm was nominated in two Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries curatorial writing categories. Raw, personal, and political, the publication explores Scott’s searing critique of modernity, industrial warfare, and the machinery of power that defines the contemporary condition.
In Curatorial Writing: Short Text, Richard William Hill’s catalogue essay, “You Can Be Any John Scott You Like,” offers an incisive and engaging portrait of Scott as a generous-spirited, wildly eccentric, and restlessly creative artist.
Nominated in Curatorial Writing: Major Text is the exhibition’s curator, John O’Brian, for “John Scott and the Four Horsemen.” As the centrepiece of the publication, O’Brian’s text provides a powerful and deeply researched analysis of the often apocalyptic and gender-questioning themes running through Scott’s work, linking the artist’s vision to wider social, political, and historical forces.
Exhibition Page | Gallery Shop
These nominations reflect the remarkable teamwork at the heart of the McMichael—from curators and editors to designers, artists, and community partners. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the nominated writers, contributors, and collaborators whose talents shine through each project.
We look forward to celebrating with colleagues across the province and remain profoundly grateful for the opportunity to share these stories, artworks, and ideas with audiences in Kleinburg and beyond.
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