2024 Emerging Digital Artists Award Exhibition

2024 EDAA Exhibition

December 11, 2024 – January 11, 2025
Gallery TPW, Toronto

Carmilla Sumantry
Francisco Gonzalez-Rosas
Moni Omubor
Quinn Hopkins
Studio Ekosi

The Emerging Digital Artists Award is an annual celebration of advanced creativity and critical experimentation in digital media. Now in its 10th year, the prize recognizes the exceptional talents of emerging artists in Canada working at the forefront of the genre, highlighting the prolific and dynamic ways in which technology and art intersect.

This year’s exhibition presents the work of five remarkable artists whose practices challenge conventions and redefine the possibilities of digital expression. Across five distinct categories of digital art—still image; moving image; 2D interactive; extended reality; and 3D installation—each recipient represents a unique voice in the discipline, exploring themes such as embodied knowledge, glitch, media-driven commodification and consumption, self-image and representation, and post-colonial futures. Together, their work invites us to reconsider our relationship with technology and the ways in which it shapes our understanding of the world around us, while generating new worlds that offer a glimpse into what is possible.

Artist Biographies:

Moni Omubor is a Lagos-born visual artist and designer based in Lethbridge, Alberta. Her new media practice uses speculative fiction to explore the interconnectedness of Black diasporic realities and postcolonial Nigerian identity. She holds a B.Sc. in Architecture and an MFA in New Media from the University of Lethbridge and is a member of the Lethbridge-based Black art collective, We’re Here Too.

Carmilla Sumantry is an interdisciplinary creative based in so-called Vancouver, with a background in industrial design, 3D art, and animation. Her practice explores the relationship between emerging creative technology and art through an existential lens informed by her second-generation Indonesian-Canadian heritage and queer identity.

Studio Ekosi is Caeleigh and Keara Lightning, mixed Irish and Nehiyaw sisters based in Edmonton, Alberta. Caeleigh is a Two-Spirit artist and illustrator whose work explores themes of queerness and interconnectivity, and Keara is a PhD student at the University of Alberta, where she advocates for Indigenous-led scientific research. Together, they create narrative games about Indigenous futures.

Quinn Hopkins is a Toronto-based artist working at the intersection of Urban Indigenous culture and new media, crafting a vibrant dialogue between Indigenous history, urban life, and futuristic visions. Rooted in Anishinaable-Métis traditions, he reimagines Indigenous iconography for the modern era. His digital creations and immersive installations have been presented at Evergreen Brick Works, Toronto; Thunder Bay Art Gallery; and Hart House at the University of Toronto.

Francisco Gonzalez-Rosas (he/they) is a Chilean performance and new media artist based in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal. Their practice explores existing and speculative crossovers between body and technology, emphasizing the politics of these encounters. Francisco holds an MFA in Intermedia from Concordia University, Montreal, and a BA in Acting from Finis Terrae University, Santiago, and their work has been included in exhibitions at Fondation Phi, Montreal; Centre Caravansérail, Rimouski; and Centre for Culture & Technology, Toronto.

About the EDAA
The Emerging Digital Artists Award (EDAA) is Canada’s award for critical experimentation in digital media, proudly presented by EQ Bank. Established in 2015, the annual prize celebrates the contributions of early-career artists working exclusively in virtual space. Each year, we seek artwork submissions from across the country that push us in new directions and challenge us to see the world through a different screen.

About EQ Bank
EQ Bank is the digital banking platform launched in 2016 by Equitable Bank, Canada’s Challenger Bank™. As a future-ready financial institution, fostering innovation is at the heart of everything we do. We firmly believe in the benefits of open banking and continue to invest in technology to serve the changing financial needs of Canadians.

Equipment support by
Centre for Technology and Culture

About Gallery TPW
Gallery TPW is a leading artist-run centre dedicated to exhibiting underrepresented artistic and curatorial practices that push the boundaries of lens-based work. Since its formation in 1977, Gallery TPW (originally Toronto Photographers Workshop) has evolved alongside changes in the production, distribution and perception of photography, film and video. Our diverse roster of exhibitions, screenings, performances, commissioned writing, and public programs expands awareness of the vital role that images play in contemporary culture.

Gallery TPW
170 St. Helens Avenue
Toronto, ON, M6H 4A1
Website | Instagram

Gallery TPW is an accessible venue with ramp access, an accessible ground-floor washroom, and clear, unobstructed pathways within the gallery. Please note that there are no automatic doors at the entrance and no designated accessible parking nearby.

Hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 11am – 5pm
Holiday closure: December 22, 2024 – January 7, 2025

Contact: edaa@eqbank.ca
Instagram: @edaa_eqb

Images:
1) Diana Lynn VanderMeulen, A Boundless and Radiant Aura, 2024
2) 2024 EDAA Recipients (clockwise from top left): Studio Ekosi; Carmilla Sumantry (Maryn Devine); Francisco Gonzalez-Rosas (Cuto Reed); Moni Omubor (Oseremen Irete); and Quinn Hopkins (Nadya Kwandibens/Red Works Photography)