Suzy Lake was among the first women to use performance and photography to confront gender politics — and her influence on the art scene was immediate and immense. 

Now the subversive visual artist has been named one of this year’s winners of the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts.

She joins guest host Piya Chattopadhyay to discuss her groundbreaking work, why her art isn’t quite biographical, and how identity can be formed through resistance. 

“Even though we knew who we weren’t, we weren’t quite sure who we were,” she says.

Listen to the full q interview here

On March 9, the Scotiabank Photography Award announced the finalists for the 2016 award: Pascal Grandmaison of Montreal, Suzy Lake of Toronto and Jayce Salloum of Vancouver. 

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On March 7, the Canada Council for the Arts announced the winners of the 2016 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts. 

The 2016 winners are:

Edward Burtynsky, photographer, Toronto 

Wanda Koop, visual artist, Winnipeg

Suzy Lake, visual artist, Toronto 

Mark Lewis, media artist, London, UK

William (Bill) Vazan, visual artist, Montreal 

Marnie Fleming, curator, Toronto (Outstanding Contribution Award)

Philip Hoffman, filmmaker, Mount Forest, ON

Jane Kidd, textile artist, Salt Spring Island, BC (Saidye Bronfman Award)

See full story here