About Face #4, hand-built porcelain, ceramic shards, ceramic and glass tiles, 29 1/2″ x 19 3/4″ x 14 1/4 “, Photo credit Ken Mayer
The Sally Michener Sculptural Award was initiated by the NWCF to honour Sally Michener (1935 – 2023), an artist, educator and long-term Board member. Sally earned her MSW from Columbia University in New York City and her MFA from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. She immigrated to Canada in 1973 and taught at the Vancouver School of Art/Emily Carr University for twenty-five years. Her studio practice consists primarily of ceramic sculpture and installation-based works, which have been exhibited across Canada as well as abroad in Japan, China, the USA, Mexico and Europe. The recipient of numerous Canada Council grants and awards and a member of RCA, Sally participated in ceramic residencies in Canada, Mexico and China. In 2007, she was one of ten Canadians invited to participate in a month-long residency and to create work for an international ceramic museum in Fuping, China, and, in 2009, she created a garden installation at the Burlington Art Centre in Ontario. Sally served on the Board from its inception in 1993 until 2015.
2026 Recipient
Criteria for the Award:
- A triennial cash award to an artist who uses clay towards a sculptural resolution, and whose work demonstrates risk, exploration, and advances interest in clay as a sculptural material.
- If possible, the SMA be awarded during the Canadian Clay Symposium.
Awards Committee:
- One NWCF Board Member
- One BC resident who is working in clay and is a senior practitioner
- A recognized authority on BC ceramics arts – curator/writer/critic etc. (this person could be from outside the province)
Award: $5000
- Conditions of Award: None
- Presented at a NWCF Fundraising event.
- Recipient is expected to produce a short presentation (in any format) to be delivered when and where award is presented.
