$10,000 PRIZE
Former New Glasgow Artist in residence wins NS Talent Trust prize.
Curtis Botham, a former New Glasgow NSCAD Artist in Residence, has claimed a top prize from the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.
Botham is one of two artists who has been awarded the 2011 Canada Games Young Artist of Excellence Award, which is valued at $10,000. The award is given annually by the Nova Scotia Talent Trust to two artists who best exemplify the qualities embraced by the Nova Scotia Talent Trust – that of the utmost commitment, promise, exceptional technique, talent and the highest achievement of excellence, someone who demonstrates the passion and drive to become a professional Nova Scotia artist in their field of discipline.
“The award is a huge validation of all the hard work I’ve done in the course of my residency at New Glasgow,” said Botham in response to questions from The News. “It’s a signal that I should continue to develop my art and pursue this as a career; a dream that I doubted would happen for me for years before this.”
Thanks to the award and the income it provides, he said he’ll be able to keep at his work for another year.
“The future is still uncertain about whether I’ll be able to continue as a full-time artist indefinitely, but at least I’m being given the opportunity to really try.”
He said it will give him the breathing room to plan his next big project and to continue to devote himself full time to art.
“That’s really a big deal though, as I learned in this last year in New Glasgow’s artist-in-residency program. I probably developed as much as an artist in this past year as I did for most of my time at NSCAD. Being able to do art eight hours a day every day really has a way of pushing you to your potential, and I hope that this next year is at least as productive as my time in New Glasgow.”
He said his next project is going to be urban and focus on Halifax.
“I am inspired by Mark Rothko’s subway series, Edward Hopper’s charcoal drawings of city life, and the post-impressionist painters like Eduoard Manet who had a lot to say about the industrial and modernizing transformations of his time.”
He said he also hopes to use the time to read some art theory related to his work.
He already has a solo exhibition coming up next April at the Craig Gallery in Dartmouth and hopes to find more opportunities to increase his notoriety.