We arrive just in time and push into the Art Gallery Of Nova Scotia crowd listening to the speeches and jovial preamble leading to the moment we are all waiting for. Finely dressed representatives of our national community of arts and culture are packed closely together to hear the announcement of the 2015 Sobey Art Award winner. However, even being on the short list is a prize for each of the five artists represented in the gallery just downstairs from the reception space. They are all being recognized for their achievements and the value of their work to Canadian culture. Together they represent a cross section of contemporary Canadian art. 
Lisa Lipton, Ballay Bay, Chapter VIII – The Impossible Blue Rose, Woody Point, Gros Morne, NL, 2014, mixed media installation and site-specific performance involving costuming, painted walls, rocks and found objects, wood burnt branches, lighting, stationary designs, video, music (photo: Tom Cochrane)
Lisa Lipton’s Graysville is a self-referential, popular culture creep show geared to stimulate all the senses. The artist is the Atlantic representative for the award and a local Halifax heavy hitter who never fails to set a stage; every detail is considered and the viewer's interaction is always integral to the work. Viewing it over time means falling into an ever-unfolding narrative – a mystery that begs to be solved and a dystopian paradise that you can’t look away from.
Sarah Anne Johnson pulls me in the most with her work. Her constructed Hospital Hallway confines the viewer to safe space in which to confront discomfort in body and identity. One enters the work by closing the door behind them before passing screen after screen showing video footage of the artist moving through the same hallway space shuddering, dragging, and convulsing her body against the walls. The videos are deeply affecting and the space further personalizes the experience for the viewer.
In the end, Abbas Akhavan receives the prestigious award – an honor that means a great financial support for his work as well as national recognition. His installation Fatigues is dotted throughout the gallery and is comprised of beautiful carcasses of wild animals that were each killed by different acts of human interaction with nature – both intentional and unintentional. The works are unmarked and purposely placed at odds with the traditional exhibit format. Here a deer is found in an unlit corner, there a bird seems to have fallen against a wall. Neither enshrined, but both deeply precious.
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Halifax: http://www.artgalleryofnovascotia.ca/
The 2015 Sobey Art Award continues until January 3.
Anna Taylor is an artist, crafter, and organizer sitting on the board of the Halifax Crafters Society. She is Akimblog’s Halifax correspondent and can be followed on Twitter @TaylorMadeGoods.
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The Sobey Art Award at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax
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