Brian Jungen Receives $100,000 Audain Prize for the Visual Arts
Jungen, a preeminent figure in contemporary art, is celebrated internationally for his exceptional manipulation of consumer goods, weaving modern sculptural principles with Indigenous traditions.
VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 26, 2025 /CNW/ – Brian Jungen is the 2025 recipient of the $100,000 Audain Prize for the Visual Arts, one of Canada’s highest honours in the arts. Announced today at a vibrant ceremony in Vancouver, the Audain Prize serves as a powerful testament to the global accomplishments of British Columbia’s artists. Established in 2004 by Michael Audain, this year’s award marks the culmination of more than two decades spent advancing his visionary mission of deepening our appreciation for Canadian art–both at home and abroad.
“It is an honour to recognize Brian Jungen with the 2025 Audain Prize,” said Michael Audain, Chairman of the Audain Foundation. “The impact of his art is undeniable. Since the late 90s, Jungen has forged a name for himself internationally through his commanding sculptural practice. It is critical that we not only acknowledge the calibre of such accomplished artists but also continue to raise their profile here in British Columbia, in Canada, and around the world.”
Brian Jungen’s thought-provoking sculptural manipulation of commodified, everyday objects often evokes visceral connections to traditional Indigenous artistry, including masks, drums, and animals. Drawing upon his Dane-Zaa heritage, as well as his personal experiences of Indigenous visual language while living and working across British Columbia, his practice confronts, reconstructs, and creates dialogue surrounding the relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures.
His multidisciplinary practice is centered on the decontextualization and transformation of mass-produced objects and popular culture, including Nike Air Jordan sneakers, plastic furniture, and household items. While disassembling and reassembling commodified objects, Jungen endeavours to preserve some of the structural integrity of the source material to inspire thoughtful consideration of the social constructs behind these objects. Exploring the complexities of appropriation and cultural identity through dominant themes such as shelter, ritual, and survival in an increasingly globalized world has established him internationally as one of Canada’s preeminent figures in contemporary art.
While Jungen describes himself as a private individual, both culturally and spiritually, he underlines the significance of connectivity between his sculptural objects and the public. “I am grateful for all the exposure that I’ve had over the years, and to the people who have helped me along the way,” said Jungen. “Being honoured as the recipient of this year’s Audain Prize extends beyond acknowledging my accomplishments as an artist. The Audain Prize serves as another bridge between my sculptures and members of the public, sharing my work with new audiences and communities, across generations and throughout the globe.”
Selected by an independent committee, the Audain Prize is presented by the Audain Art Museum, which shares a mandate of elevating artists from British Columbia. The 2025 jury consists of: Dr. Kimberly Phillips, (Director, Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum, Simon Fraser University), Reid Shier (Executive Director, The Polygon Gallery), Emmy Lee Wall (Executive Director and Chief Curator, Capture Photography Festival), Ian Wallace, OC, RCA, (Artist, 2022 Audain Prize Recipient), Kiriko Watanabe (Gail & Stephen A. Jarislowsky Curator, Audain Art Museum).
The Prize also serves as an important source of inspiration for emerging and mid-career artists, directly impacting and empowering future generations of Canadian artists. As a complement to the prestigious award, the accompanying Audain Travel Awards were established in 2019 to carve new pathways for student artists by supporting access to career-enriching international art experiences.
Five $7,500 Travel Awards are presented at the Audain Prize Ceremony each year, in partnership with major universities across British Columbia. This year’s Audain Travel Award recipients include: Emily Carr University of Art + Design’s Naimah-Bint Amin, the University of British Columbia’s Violet Johnson, the University of Victoria’s Edith Skeard, Simon Fraser University’s Alexis Chivir-ter Tsegba, and the University of British Columbia Okanagan’s Jesse Weemering.
The ceremony brought together prominent figures in contemporary art from across the country to recognize and celebrate Jungen’s far-reaching achievements and contributions to Canada’s cultural landscape. Past recipients of the Audain Prize include Rebecca Belmore, Dana Claxton, Ian Wallace, James Hart, Stan Douglas, Susan Point, Carole Itter, Paul Wong, Michael Morris, Fred Herzog, Takao Tanabe, Gathie Falk, Marian Penner Bancroft, Rodney Graham, Robert Davidson, Liz Magor, Jeff Wall, Gordon Smith, Eric Metcalfe, E.J. Hughes, and Ann Kipling. Works by many of the recipients, including several major works by Brian Jungen, will be included in an upcoming exhibition opening in November 2025 at the Audain Art Museum in Whistler.
About the Audain Foundation
Founded by Michael Audain, the Audain Foundation was established in 1997. The Foundation is committed to the development of British Columbian artists, with the objective of fostering greater appreciation of the visual arts, in British Columbia and beyond. In recent years, the Audain Foundation has also expanded its scope through a commitment to protecting and conserving wildlife in British Columbia’s land and surrounding waters. The Foundation has been instrumental in founding Whistler’s Audain Art Museum, the Audain Art Museum Foundation, the Grizzly Bear Foundation and the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation, which all operate independently under the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act.
About the Audain Art Museum
Established in 2016, the Audain Art Museum in Whistler was founded via a major philanthropic gift of Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa. The Permanent Collection is focused on the art of British Columbia. Highlights include hereditary Haida Chief James Hart’s The Dance Screen, an exceptional collection of historical and contemporary Indigenous art, a comprehensive selection of paintings by Emily Carr and a brilliant range of works by Vancouver’s Photo-conceptualists. The Museum hosts numerous special exhibitions every year that feature artists and collections of national as well as international significance.
SOURCE Audain Art Museum
