Yukon-based artist-run centre Klondike Institute of Art & Culture is the grand winner of the $50,000 Lacey Prize

Press Release

November 18, 2025

This year, the biannual prize recognizes centres from the edge of the Arctic in Dawson City (YK), Toronto (ON) and Montreal (QC)

The Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), a member-driven arts centre located in Dawson City, Yukon, is the grand winner of the 2025 Lacey Prize. The centre wins a $50,000 prize in cash money and will receive an in-person site visit from a National Gallery of Canada (NGC) contemporary art curator, who will also conduct studio visits with local artists. Hearth, Toronto, Ontario, and daphne, Montreal, Quebec, are the runners-up, each receiving $20,000.

By recognizing small centres from coast to coast to coast, the Lacey Prize celebrates the resilience and generosity of these organizations and their essential role in sustaining Canada’s cultural ecosystem. The Prize is awarded biennially to artist-run centres and community-focused galleries and is now in its fourth edition. It was launched in 2019, in partnership with the NGC, and is funded through a gift from Dr. John Lacey and his late wife Naomi, and supported by the National Gallery of Canada Foundation.

“Congratulations to this year’s Lacey Prize winner and the two runners-up. This award is a powerful reminder of the importance of art in every corner of our vast country, from major cities to small and remote regions,” said Jean-François Bélisle, Director and CEO, National Gallery of Canada. “Artist-run centres have the unique capacity to connect and support creators across thousands of kilometres, ensuring that Canadian voices in the visual arts are heard everywhere.”

Klondike Institute of Art and Culture (KIAC) is a vibrant, member-driven centre for artistic and cultural exchange located in Dawson City, Yukon, on Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Traditional and Contemporary Territory. KIAC cultivates creativity and connects community through a wide range of festivals, events, exhibitions, and arts education programs spanning film, music, visual, literary, and performing arts.

“It is an honour to be selected for the Lacey Prize,” said Capp Larsen, Operations Director at KIAC. “Running an arts centre so close to the Arctic sometimes feels like we are isolated at the edge of the Earth—the Lacey Prize highlights how interconnected the artist-run movement is across Canada. Thank you to the Lacey Prize for the recognition and for the reminder that we are part of something bigger, of a supportive network of artists and organizers coming together across vast distances to create space, build community, and encourage creativity.”

Founded in 2019 as an artist-run space, Hearth aims to provide a context that values collaboration, experimentation, and community. Presenting exhibitions, performances, publications, workshops, and other experimental programming, Hearth is collaboratively operated by Rowan Lynch, Sameen Mahboubi, Philip Ocampo, and Benjamin de Boer, as well as guest curators.

daphne is an Indigenous artist-run centre in Tiohtià:ke / Mooniyang / Montreal grounded in the Kanien’kehá:ka Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen [Thanksgiving Address] and the Anishinaabe Grandparent Teachings. Since 2019, daphne has become a vibrant hub for Indigenous creativity, dialogue, and community. Through exhibitions, residencies, gatherings, and mentorship, it supports Indigenous artists at all stages of their careers and from across Turtle Island, building relationships rooted in orality, practice, and process.

“We were inspired to see the range of organizations striving in their own ways to keep the cultural pulse across the country lively and impactful, despite economic constraints. The finalists for this year’s prize were selected for their incredible generosity and resilience, which shines through their commitment to artists, dynamic programming, and community-minded endeavours,” the 2025 Lacey Prize jury stated.

The jury also identified three centres which they felt merit honourable mentions for the important work they are doing in their respective communities. They extend their congratulations to La petite Place des Arts in Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc, Quebec, Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art in Kelowna, British Columbia, and Eastern Edge in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The 2025 Lacey Prize jury was composed of Luther Konadu, artist, writer, curator and notably, the Director and Curator of C’cap – Centre for Cultural and Artistic Practices (formerly Blinkers Art and Project Space, the 2021 Lacey Prize winner) located on Treaty 1 territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba; Josée Drouin-Brisebois, Director, National Engagement at the National Gallery of Canada; and Louise Lacey-Rokosh, artist and representative from the Lacey family.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Pénélope Carreau
Officer, Public Relations
National Gallery of Canada
pcarreau@gallery.ca

Josée-Britanie Mallet
Senior Officer, Media and Public Relations
National Gallery of Canada
bmallet@gallery.ca

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