2022 PENN IDEA Art Award Call for Nominations

Artist innovated with window film as medium to create immersive art in VGH Emergency Department

Vancouver General Hospital's Emergency Department is on the front lines of any health crisis. As the province’s main referral centre for acute, highly specialized adult care, the Emergency Department serves a very diverse population, caring for people from across the province who are severely injured or ill— from emergency cardiac, neurological, or trauma injuries to mental health emergencies, to first time diagnoses of cancer, appendicitis or minor orthopedic injuries. When patients and families seek care in the Emergency Department at VGH, they are in crisis and an interdisciplinary team of expert healthcare professionals is there to provide care, support, and answers in a stressful situation. When the doors slide open, the team is prepared for anything.

The PENN IDEA Art Award encourages innovation, asking emerging artists to expand their practice by reflecting on how their artwork can actively contribute to and promote healing. This is a high stress environment for both patients and staff. Patients are seen based on how sick they are, not when they arrived, and the concept of triage is hard to grasp when someone is ill or in pain. How can art transform this experience of waiting? Time in the waiting room is both a shared experience and an individual journey. How can art address inclusion yet speak to the individual? The winning artwork has been translated into window film to transform the eight central window panels of the Emergency Department Waiting Rooms at VGH, creating visual interest that can improve the patient experiences and enhance the environment for staff.

For insight into the everyday challenges faced in the Emergency Department, watch the documentary series Emergency Room: Life and Death at VGH on the Knowledge Network, filmed prior to the pandemic, featuring VGH physicians, nurses, and healthcare staff.

Award Prize

The winner of the PENN IDEA Art Award, as selected by the award jury, received $5,000 with the winning artwork included in the permanent collection of the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Art Collection. Three finalists were featured in an exhibition at Trapp Projects.

Congratulations to JACOB STROHAN—winner of the 2022 PENN IDEA Art Award!

2022 Nominated Finalists:
Roxanne Charles (SFU, MFA 2021), Jacob Strohan (KPU, BFA 2021) and Svava Tergesen (ECUAD, BFA 2020)

2022 Nominators: Raymond Boisjoly and Kathy Slade (SFU); Scott McBride and Liz Toohey-Wiese (KPU); Marina Roy and Althea Thauberger (UBC); Elizabeth McIntosh and Birthe Piontek (ECUAD).

2022 Jury: Patrik Andersson, Grant Arnold, Roberta Beiser, Russna Kaur, Katharine Knowles, Scott Maher (VCH, VGH Emergency Department Patient Services Manager), Mira Malatestinic, Coleen Nemtin, Lori Quinn (VCH, Director - Indigenous Patient Experience and Professional Practice)

We would like to thank the other nominated artists who submitted compelling artwork from their portfolios:

Héloïse Auvray, Mollie Burke, Rydel Cerezo, Sai Di, Kia Eriksson, Aakansha Ghosh, Ramneet Kaur, Nazanin Oghanian, Faune Ybarra

PENN IDEA ART AWARD AND EXHIBITION OF ARTWORK FROM THE
VGH & UBC HOSPITAL FOUNDATION ART COLLECTION

at TRAPP PROJECTS

EXHIBITION: JUNE 19 - JULY 3, 2022
GALLERY HOURS: THURSDAYS AND FRIDAYS 5-7PM; SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS 12-5
274 East 1st Avenue, Vancouver (enter via back door from alley, up the stairs

ART WORK BY: SONNY ASSU, UTA BARTH, KARIN BUBAŠ, GENEVIÈVE CADIEUX, LIZ CARTER, ROXANNE CHARLES, NAN LAWSON CHENEY, ENN ERISALU, LUCIAN FREUD, TORRIE GROENING, MONA HATOUM, CAROLE ITTER, KRISTA JAHNKE, RUSSNA KAUR, ARNO KORTSCHOT, GLENN LIGON, ROBERT LINSLEY, CYRUS MCEACHERN, LEVI NELSON, CHRISTIAN NICOLAY, IAN PENN, MARY PRATT, WATER POON, JULIANA REMPEL, DAVID ROBINSON, CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUES, YINKA SHONIBARE, LORNA SIMPSON, JACOB STROHAN, GORDON SMITH, SVAVA TERGESEN, ANDY WARHOL, PAUL WINDSOR, ALAN WOOD, JIN-ME YOON

About the Award

Established in 2009 through a generous donation by Dr. Ian Penn and Dr. Sandy Penn Whitehouse, the PENN IDEA Art Award aims to build visibility and support the careers of creative individuals and promotes consideration of the intersection of art and healing. This year the award competition is open by nomination to current students enrolled in an undergraduate or master’s Fine Arts degree program at Emily Carr University of Art and Design (ECUAD), Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), Langara College, Simon Fraser University (SFU) or University of British Columbia (UBC) and alumni of these programs who have graduated within the past three years. Finalists will be given a stipend to submit a proposal for the VGH Emergency Department Waiting Room windows. As selected by a jury, the winning artist will receive a $5,000 cash award.