Vancouver, BC CANADA - August 26, 2022 - Artists for Conservation (AFC) is pleased to announce the first round of award winners of the fourteenth annual AFC International Exhibit of Nature in Art to be held September 22-25 in Vancouver, BC. The awards include five AFC Medals of Excellence, which recognizes at least five outstanding artworks in the exhibit, an Environmental Statement Award, and Interpretive/Abstract Award. AFC also presents two Best in Show awards, in recognition of the highest scoring painting and sculpture by the jury panel in the annual exhibit.
Artists receiving the awards are as follows:
Best in Show, Painting
- “In Plain Sight” by Bruce Lawes (Painting)
Best in Show, Sculpture
- “Protection” by Casey Banwell (Sculpture)
Medals of Excellence
- “In Plain Sight” by Bruce Lawes (Canada)
- “Pair of Kings” by Bruce Lawes (Canada)
- “Into the Papyrus” by John Banovich (USA)
- “Roy, the Ol Pejeta Chimpanzee” by Douglass Lockyer (New Zealand)
- “Dappled Respite” by Gordon Pembridge (New Zealand)
- “Protection” by Casey Banwell (UK)
Environmental Statement Award
- “Rainforests Visit” by Harro Maass
Interpretive/Abstract Award
- “Flying Falcon” by Martin Hayward-Harris (UK)
Best Landscape Award
- “Passage “ by Karel Doruyter (Canada)
Pollyanna Pickering Memorial Award
- “Bam Bam” by Carrie Cook (USA)
John Seerey-Lester Human-Wildlife Interaction Award
- “Chief Charlie Mason and the Spirit Bear Mask” by Harold Allanson (Canada)
Honorable Mention
- “Sweet Things” by Natalie Parker (Australia)
- “Morning’s Song” by Laura Levitsky (Canada)
- “Winter Sun”, Red Foxes by Martin Ridley (UK)
- “Giant Panda” by Calvin Nicholls (Canada)
- “Sealed With a Kiss” by Michelle McCune (USA)
- “Moneypenny, the Secretary Bird” by Douglass Lockyer (New Zealand)
- “On patrol” by Ilse de Villiers (South Africa)
- “Flying Falcon” by Martin Hayward-Harris (UK)
- “Snowleopards” by Ahsan Qureshi (Pakistan)
- “Mr. Gang Gang” by Garry Fleming (Australia)
- “Bam Bam” by Carrie Cook (USA)
- “Antlers Down” by Martin Ridley (UK)
Additional awards will be announced at a later date.
Thank you to our jury for their generous contribution of time and expertise. Jurors in this year's exhibit included:
- Walt Anderson - AFC Signature Member, Photographer and Professor Emeritus of Environmental Studies (USA);
- Sandy Brooks – AFC Signature Member, Executive Director, St Louis Arts Chamber of Commerce (USA);
- Brent Cooke – AFC Signature Member & Board Member, past Director of Royal BC Museum (Canada);
- Anna-Louise Pickering – Photographer and Co-Founder/President, Pollyanna Pickering Foundation (UK);
- Ahsan Qureshi – AFC Signature Member and ENT Surgeon (Pakistan);
- Suzie Seerey-Lester – AFC Signature Member and Recipient of the Simon Combes Conservation Award (USA);
- Debra Usher – Editor/Publisher of Arabella Magazine (Canada)
Image Credits:
- “Rainforests Visit” by Harro Maass
- “Protection” by Casey Banwell (Sculpture)
- “Pair of Kings” by Bruce Lawes (Canada)
- “Chief Charlie Mason and the Spirit Bear Mask” by Harold Allanson (Canada)
- “Into the Papyrus” by John Banovich (USA)
About Artists for Conservation
Artists for Conservation (AFC) is the world's leading group of artists supporting the environment. Founded in 1997, the non-profit organization comprises a membership of 500 of the world's most gifted nature artists from 30 countries, across five continents. Dedicated to nurture, promote and leverage its world-class community of artists in support of our natural world, AFC drives its mission through three key programs: Art & Environmental Education; Field Work & Research; and Artist Development. The Artists for Conservation Festival is AFC's annual flagship initiative to showcase, support and further these programs. http://www.artistsforconservation.org/