CIBC Announces the 2025 C² Art Program Recipients

Images (left to right): 2025 C² Art recipients Delali Cofie and Natia Lemay. Photo credits: Manny Wood Lynes-Ford (left), Arielle Grey (right).

TORONTO, May 23, 2025 – CIBC is proud to announce Delali Cofie and Natia Lemay as the recipients of this year’s C² Art Program, a Canadian national art competition designed to help emerging artists make their ambitions a reality with a unique paid opportunity that empowers artists to bring their creative visions to life. The two artists were selected by a Committee comprised of members of the art community.

Delali Cofie, a photographer and visual artist, merges photography with material forms like textiles to tell compelling stories. “I’m deeply honoured and thankful to be creating a new body of work with the trust and support of CIBC,” said Cofie. “This opportunity gives me the confidence and resources to explore new ideas and further develop my practice.”

Natia Lemay, an interdisciplinary artist, draws on personal stories to explore the interplay between mind, body, and space. “I am grateful to be a part of the CIBC C² Art Program and the opportunity to connect, create, and collaborate within a space that nurtures imagination and encourages a deeper connection through art,” said Lemay. “Programs like this allow for reflection, experimentation, and the unfolding of possibilities.”

As part of the program, both artists will develop and showcase their work in solo exhibitions at CIBC SQUARE in Toronto, connecting their art with clients, visitors, and employees.

“We are proud to support Delali and Natia as they pursue their artistic ambitions,” said Dr. Claudette Knight, Vice-President, Special Initiatives, CIBC. “The C² Art Program reflects our belief that art plays a pivotal role in fostering vibrant, diverse, and connected communities.”

About the Artists

Delali Cofie (b. 1999) is a photographer and visual artist of Ghanaian-Nigerian heritage based in Toronto. Through storytelling he engages in multiple genres of photography such as fine art, documentary, and fashion. His personal work presents subtle beauty whilst exploring themes of self-formation, and the process of becoming. Recently, his practice has expanded to explore materiality, focusing on how materials carry histories and narratives that can be reimagined in physical form. Frequently creating work between his native city Accra and current city Toronto, his work tells a tale of two cities, linked by a diasporic thread.

Recent exhibitions include It comes to me in waves, Patel Brown Gallery (2024), Tree of Life, PhotoVogue Festival, Italy (2025) and REVIVE, DesignTO Festival, Toronto (2025), where he was the recipient of the emerging artist/designer award. In 2022, his work was featured in legendary Ghanaian photographer James Barnor’s exhibition catalogue at the Arles Photography Festival. He is a recent graduate of OCAD University, where he was the recipient of the OCAD U Medal for Photography and multiple program awards.

Natia Lemay (b. 1985) is an interdisciplinary artist raised in Winnipeg and based in Toronto. Her autoethnographic practice draws on personal stories to explore how the mind, body, and space interact, reflecting on lived experience as a lens to understand broader cultural and social contexts.

Natia Lemay has exhibited widely throughout North America. The artist was selected for the 2024 Fountainhead residency in Miami and the 2022 Royal Drawing School Residency in Dumfries, Scotland. She was awarded the National Trust Prize at Expo Chicago 2024, with her work acquired by High Museum in Atlanta in addition to being collected by the Art Gallery of Ontario, The Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Minnesota Museum of American Art, The North Dakota Museum of Art and The Montclair Museum of Art. She received her BFA from Ontario College of Art and Design in 2021 with a minor in Social Sciences and her MFA from Yale School of Art in 2023.

About the C² Art Program

CIBC’s C² Art Program (C² Art) is a Canadian national art competition designed to help emerging artists make their ambitions a reality with a unique paid opportunity to create and curate their art. The completed artwork will then be exhibited for three months at CIBC’s headquarters, CIBC Square, in Toronto, ON.

Now in its third year, C² Art continues to provide a platform for artists to grow and connect with new audiences. To learn more about the C² Art Program and past recipients, please visit the website.

About CIBC

CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with 14 million personal banking, business, public sector and institutional clients. Across Personal and Business Banking, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, and Capital Markets and Direct Financial Services businesses, CIBC offers a full range of advice, solutions and services through its leading digital banking network, and locations across Canada, in the United States and around the world. Ongoing news releases and more information about CIBC can be found here.

For further information: Stephanie Marcus, CIBC Communications & Public Affairs, 416-643-6358 or stephanie.marcus@cibc.com.

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