EQ Bank celebrates 10th anniversary of the Emerging Digital Artists Award

Call for submissions for Canada’s first digital art award open now until August 5, 2024

TORONTO, July 5, 2024 /CNW/ – EQ Bank, powered by Canada’s Challenger Bank™, Equitable Bank, is pleased to announce the 10^th edition of the Emerging Digital Artists Award (EDAA), Canada’s leading award for critical experimentation in digital media.

Since it was established in 2015, the EDAA has awarded over $150,000 to 55 digital artists and celebrated a range of screen-based practices including video, animation, web art, game art, and virtual reality. As a digital bank, EQ Bank is proud to continue supporting Canada’s talented and innovative digital artist community through this unique initiative.

The 2024 call for submissions is open until August 5, 2024. Canadian digital artists within the first eight years of their professional careers are encouraged to apply here.

“The EDAA was born out of a simple line of inquiry a decade ago – would it not make sense to support digital artists working hard to carve out an exciting new niche in art, as we chart our own plans to launch a digital bank?” said Andrew Moor, president and CEO, EQ Bank. “We dug deeper and were inspired to launch the EDAA to champion digital artists’ efforts amid the unique challenges they face. We haven’t looked back since – each year, we meet a new cohort of innovators and are fortunately able to allow more people to engage with the dynamic worlds they’ve crafted in the digital space.”

Artists can apply to one of five distinct award categories, each with a $5,000 prize: still image, moving image, 2D interactive, 3D installation and extended reality. Submissions are reviewed by an impressive lineup of guest judges from the digital and contemporary arts communities including Zach Blas, Skawennati, Crystal Mowry and Kara Stone.

“There is so much to celebrate in our 10^th year, including the more than 75 digital artists, curators and scholars who have come together through this award over the past decade,” said Shannon Linde, senior curator, EQ Bank. “The EDAA was well ahead of its time in recognizing artists who engage with new technologies in their work. In 2024, it feels more important than ever to honour experimental practices that resist the notion that screen time lacks space for critical engagement.”

As a longtime champion of artistic innovation in digital spaces, the EDAA is marking its 10^th anniversary in several exciting ways:

• The 2024 campaign will feature a new digital series by Toronto-based artist Diana Lynn VanderMeulen;
• The EDAA’s five winning works will be included in an expanded virtual exhibition produced by SpekWork Studio in partnership with the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina throughout 2024-25;
• Winning recipients’ works will also be included in a touring 2024-25 group exhibition at Gallery TPW in Toronto, EMMEDIA in Calgary and Centre for Art Tapes in Halifax; and
• One of the five winning recipients will participate in an international residency with CYENS Thinker Maker Space in Nicosia, Cyprus, in 2025.

The five recipients of the 2024 Emerging Digital Artists Award will be announced in October 2024 and celebrated at an award ceremony in Toronto in January 2025 to coincide with the launch of the virtual exhibition and first stop of the touring group exhibition.

To learn more about the EDAA or to submit your digital art for consideration, please complete an application form here by August 5, 2024. Certain terms and conditions apply.

About the EDAA

The Emerging Digital Artists Award (EDAA) is Canada’s award for critical experimentation in digital media, proudly presented by EQ Bank. Launched in 2015, the EDAA has awarded over $150,000 to 55 artists and celebrated a range of screen-based practices including video, animation, virtual reality, game art, and web art.

To learn more, follow us on Instagram.

About EQ Bank 

Equitable Bank has a clear mission to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people’s lives. As Canada’s Challenger Bank™ and seventh largest bank by assets, it leverages technology to deliver exceptional personal and commercial banking experiences and services to over 639,000 customers and more than six million credit union members through its businesses. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of EQB Inc. (TSX: EQB and EQB.PR.C), a leading digital financial services company with $123 billion in combined assets under management and administration (as at April 30, 2024). Through its digital EQ Bank platform (eqbank.ca), its customers have named it one of the top banks in Canada on the Forbes World’s Best Banks list since 2021.

To learn more, please visit eqb.investorroom.com or connect with us on LinkedIn. 

For submission-related inquiries, contact:

Shannon Linde
Senior Curator
slinde@eqbank.ca

For media inquiries, contact:

Maggie Hall
Director, PR & Communications
maggie.hall@eqbank.ca

SOURCE EQ Bank