The philosophy of the Foundation is that strong juries choose strong candidates, which in turn enhances the integrity of the Award.
Each year, the Joe Plaskett Foundation appoints three Canadian artists or curators of significant reputation to the jury. Starting in 2020, the candidates’ applications were reviewed by a coast-to-coast jury, in an effort to accurately represent the variety of viewpoints in Canadian painting.
2023 Jury – Coast-to-Coast Jury
| Jordan Bennett | Mi’kmaw visual artist currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Meera Sethi | Contemporary Canadian visual artist established in Toronto, Ontario |
| M.E. Sparks | Artist and educator currently living in Winnipeg, Manitoba |
2022 Jury – Coast-to-Coast Jury
| David Blatherwick | Retired painting professor based in Québec |
| Kym Greeley | Visual artist based in St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador |
| Charlene Vickers | Multidisciplinary artist and art educator based in Vancouver, British Columbia |
2021 Jury – Coast-to-Coast Jury
| David Garneau | Professor of Visual Arts, University of Regina, Saskatchewan |
| Beth Stuart | Assistant Professor of Visual Arts, University of Victoria, Vancouver |
| Jinny Yu | Professor of Visual Arts, University of Ottawa, Ottawa |
2020 Jury – Coast-to-Coast Jury
| Gwenessa Lam | Associate professor, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver |
| Sara Hartland-Rowe | Part-time instructor, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax |
| Stéphane La Rue | Painter, Montreal |
2019 Jury – Guelph, Ontario
| Monica Tap (Chair) | Professor, School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph |
| Frances Loeffler | Curator, Oakville Galleries, Toronto |
| Doug Kirton | Associate Professor, Department of Fine Arts, University of Waterloo |
2018 Jury – Montréal, Québec
| Julie Trudel (Chair) | Assistant Professor, Université du Québec à Montréal, 2013 Joseph Plaskett Award Winner |
| David Elliott | Professor, Concordia University |
| Jennifer Lefort | Instructor, Université du Québec en Outaouais and University of Ottawa, and 2005 Joseph Plaskett Award Winner |
2017 Jury – Toronto, Ontario
| Laura Millard (Chair) | Associate Professor, Ontario College of Art and Design |
| David Liss | Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) |
| Alexander Irving | Associate Professor, University of Toronto |
2016 Jury – Vancouver, British Colombia
| David MacWilliam (Chair) | Associate Professor and former Dean of the Audain Faculty of Visual Art and Material Practice, Emily Carr University of Art and Design |
| Gary Pearson | Professor in Painting, University of British Columbia at Okanagan |
| Allyson Clay | Professor in the Centre for Contemporary Art, Simon Fraser University |
2015 Jury – Ottawa, Ontario
| Jennifer Lefort (Chair) | Painter and former Plaskett recipient (2005) |
| Carol Wainio | Governor General Award in Visual Arts winner and senior Canadian painter |
| Jonathan Shaughnessy | Curator, National Gallery of Canada |
2014 Jury – Winnipeg, Manitoba
| Mark Neufeld (Chair) | Associate Professor, University of Manitoba and recipient of the Inaugural Joseph Plaskett Award |
| Paul Butler | Artist and Curator of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery |
| Eleanor Bond | Associate Professor, Concordia University and renowned Winnipeg based artist |
2013 Jury – Vancouver, British Colombia
| Renée Van Halm (Chair) | Professor Emeritus, Emily Carr University |
| Robert Youds | University of Victoria |
| Ben Reeves | Emily Carr University of Art + Design |
The 2012 jury in Halifax was: Jan Peacock, Alex Livingston and Peter Dykhuis.
The 2011 jury in Toronto was: John Kissick, Shirley Wiitasalo and Laura Millard.
The 2010 jury in Montreal, was Eliza Griffiths (Chair), Pierre Dorion, and Etienne Zack.
The 2009 jury in Calgary, was Chris Cran (Chair), Arlene Stamp, and Ron Moppett.
The 2008 jury in Vancouver, was Paul Mathieu (Chair), Landon Mackenzie, and Mark Neufeld.
Special Thanks
The Joe Plaskett Foundation would like to express its thanks and appreciation to the outstanding Canadian artists who have served on The Plaskett Award jury between 2004 and 2008:
Mario Doucet, Andy Fabo, Vera Frenkel, Sherrard Grauer, Duncan de Kergommeaux, Landon Mackenzie, Cheryl Sourkes, Ian Wallace, Robert Young, and Takao Tanabe.