Karen Stentaford wins the sixteenth annual Scotiabank Photography Award

TORONTO, May 21, 2026 /CNW/ – Karen Stentaford is the winner of the 16^th annual Scotiabank Photography Award.

As winner of the celebrated Award, Stentaford will obtain a $50,000 money prize, a solo Primary Exhibition at The Image Centre, and a printed guide of her work, designed by Barr Gilmore and distributed internationally.

“Congratulations to Karen Stentaford, winner of the 16th annual Scotiabank Photography Award,” mentioned Jacqui Allard, Group Head, Global Wealth Management, Scotiabank. “This award recognizes artists whose work expands possibilities of photography while contributing meaningfully to contemporary cultural conversations. Karen’s practice reflects a remarkable sensitivity to landscape, memory, and perception, inviting viewers into moments of quiet attention and reflection. We are proud to support the continued presentation of her work through the upcoming exhibition and publication.”

The Scotiabank Photography Award acknowledges the achievements of established mid-to-late profession artists, by participating Canadians and elevating consciousness by means of photographic artwork of the problems and forces of our time. The Award was co-founded by Scotiabank and Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky with a objective of recognizing and accelerating artists’ careers as they attain the subsequent stage of nationwide and worldwide recognition.

“I’m pleased to congratulate Karen Stentaford as the recipient of this year’s Scotiabank Photography Award,” mentioned Edward Burtynsky, co-founder of the Scotiabank Photography Award and jury chair. “Her commitment to large format photography and a slower, more deliberate way of seeing invites a deeper engagement with the image–one rooted in patience, attention, and care. Through her work, the connections between environment and memory are rendered with quiet intensity, revealing how landscape holds both personal and collective histories. In an age of accelerated image-making, her practice is a powerful reminder of the value of close looking and the enduring resonance of the photographic medium. I look forward to seeing her work further realized through the exhibition and accompanying book.”

Lori Blondeau, Sara Cwynar, Rosalie Favell, and Sandra Semchuk had been additionally finalists for the 2026 Award and can every obtain money prizes of $10,000. The 2026 Scotiabank Photography Award Nominees symbolize the results of an annual Canada-wide seek for excellence. The Scotiabank Photography Award is peer-reviewed at each stage of the nomination and adjudication course of, and nominees should meet eligibility standards.

The 2026 Scotiabank Photography Award jury contains:

• Edward Burtynsky, Artist, Jury Chair
• Andrea Kunard, Senior Curator of Photographs, National Gallery
• Mireille Eagan, Curator of Contemporary Art, The Rooms
• Zoë Tousignant, Curator of Photography, McCord Stewart Museum

Dawit L. Petros, winner of the 2025 Scotiabank Photography Award, has a solo Primary Exhibition on the Toronto Image Centre, which can be on view from May 6 by means of August 1, 2026.

For extra details about the Scotiabank Photography Award, please go to www.scotiabankphotoaward.com.

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SOURCE Scotiabank

For media inquiries: Claire Dawson, Global Wealth Management Communications, Scotiabank, [email protected]