Another Salt Spring National Art Prize (SSNAP) event is in the books, reinforcing once again the value of visual arts to our community.
The SSNAP concept was bold from its inception: to hold a nationwide high-level contemporary art competition, offering significant prizes and incentives for submitting artists. Thanks to the initiative and generosity of lead prize sponsor Joan McConnell, SSNAP made its debut in 2015 with community support behind it, and it has since continued to grow in both size and stature. It’s an event that Canadian artists — including many living in the Gulf Islands — justifiably want to be part of.
McConnell spoke at the SSNAP gala two years ago, when she was 97, telling the crowd that she was tired and didn’t feel she would be around much longer, so wanted to take the opportunity to express her gratitude to all the talented and hardworking artists who have “made my life a better life.” McConnell was indeed not around to present this year’s eponymous prize, to Salt Spring artist Anna Gustafson, on Saturday night, as the beloved patron and community member died on Oct. 1. The obituary in this paper illuminates a remarkably full life and the origins of her support for the arts, human rights, social justice and other worthy causes. McConnell’s acknowledgement of the value of artists and their work is special and essential, and is similarly expressed by the many other sponsors of SSNAP and Parallel Art Show (PAS) prizes, who also deserve public gratitude.
One of SSNAP’s strengths is that it gives exhibition space and profile to both emerging and established artists, creating a mix that is truly unique and “cutting edge” when it comes to art practice in Canada. This year’s Youth Exhibition added yet another inspiring dimension, showing us what teenaged artists in the Gulf Islands are pondering and capable of executing.
In addition to prize sponsors, deep gratitude should be expressed to SSNAP Society board members and personnel, the four SSNAP and three PAS jurors, volunteers and, as McConnell stressed, the artists themselves. SSNAP enriches the lives of everyone participating, boosts the local economy in the “shoulder” season and forges strong community connections that endure from one SSNAP event to the next.