Ottawa's National Gallery of Canada is currently exhibiting the work of Shane Perley-Dutcher, a Wolastokew (Maliseet) visual artist and metalsmith from New Brunswick who is representing the Atlantic region as a finalist for the 2026 Sobey Art Award.
Who is Shane Perley-Dutcher
Perley-Dutcher's practice transforms traditional Wabanaki ash basketry by combining soft metals with organic materials like cedar, spruce and ash. That blending of metalsmithing technique with Indigenous basket-making tradition is what put him on the shortlist for one of the country's most-watched contemporary art prizes.
He's one of six finalists nationwide. The others are Melaw Nakehk'o representing the Circumpolar region, Samuel Roy-Bois for the Pacific, Audie Murray for the Prairies, Lotus L. Kang for Ontario, and Caroline Monnet for Quebec.
The Ottawa exhibition
An exhibition featuring works by all six shortlisted artists opened at the National Gallery of Canada on September 4, 2026, and runs until January 4, 2027. For Ottawa gallery-goers, it's a rare chance to see a full cross-section of the country's contemporary art scene under one roof, and to catch Perley-Dutcher's metalwork in person before a winner is even named.
The prize itself
The winner of the 2026 Sobey Art Award will be announced at a special celebration on November 14, 2026. A total of $465,000 in prize money is being awarded this year, including a $100,000 grand prize for the winner, $25,000 for each of the six shortlisted artists, and $10,000 for each remaining longlisted artist who didn't make the final cut.
Rob Sobey, Chair of the Sobey Art Foundation, said the award reminds people of the depth, resilience and talent in Canada's contemporary art community. That framing fits Perley-Dutcher's work well: his pieces sit at the intersection of Wabanaki tradition and contemporary metal craft, the kind of cross-disciplinary practice the award has increasingly recognized.
What led here
Ottown reported on the exhibition's opening earlier this month. As ottown's earlier report noted, the show gives local art lovers a free look at some of the country's most talked-about contemporary work before the November announcement. Perley-Dutcher's inclusion adds an Atlantic Indigenous perspective to that lineup, on view now in the nation's capital until early 2027.
Sources: Newswire (National Gallery of Canada / Sobey Art Foundation release), The Art Newspaper
