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Joseph S. Stauffer Prizes

Current winners of Joseph S. Stauffer Prizes: Bracken Corlett, Jody Chan and Jen Yakamovich

Bracken Corlett (top left), Jody Chan (bottom left) and Jen Yakamovich (bottom right)

Photographer(s): Amanda Strong (top left), Sarah Bodri (bottom left) and Vincent Lim (bottom right)

Current Winners

Jody Chan (Literature)

Jody Chan is a writer, drummer, community organizer, and care worker based in Toronto/Tkaronto. They are the author of haunt (Damaged Goods Press), all our futures (PANK), and sick (Black Lawrence Press), and the winner of the 2018 St. Lawrence Book Award and the 2021 Trillium Award for Poetry. Jody’s second full-length book, impact statement, is forthcoming from Brick Books in 2024. They have been a performing and teaching member with RAW Taiko Drummers since 2019. 

Bracken Corlett (Visual Arts)

Bracken Hanuse Corlett is an interdisciplinary artist from the Wuikinuxv and Klahoose Nations. He works in painting, sculpture, audiovisual performance, digital art/design, animation and narrative. A recent winner of the 2022 Portfolio Prize and the 2022 Joseph S. Stauffer Prize in Visual Arts, he also graduated from the En’owkin Centre for Indigenous Art and attended the Emily Carr University of Art + Design. He trained at the Hunt Studio with renowned Heiltsuk artist Bradley Hunt and his sons Shawn and Dean. He has exhibited, screened and performed locally and abroad with some notable work at VIFF, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, TIFF, and the Institute of Modern Art.

Jen Yakamovich (Music)

Jen Yakamovich is a drummer and percussionist who works across disciplines as an improviser, composer, educator, researcher, live performer, and session musician. Holding a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from Dalhousie University (2019), Jen is interested in the connections between sound, rhythm, and socioecological transformation. She has studied drums under Jerry Granelli and the Creative Music Workshop, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Dan Gaucher, on Galiano Island, British Columbia, and is currently studying with Susie Ibarra, in New York state. Jen grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is now based in Vancouver.

What is this prize?

The Joseph S. Stauffer Prizes are awarded to emerging and mid-career (less than 15 years of practice) artists from Canada who exhibit strong artistic potential in music, visual arts and literature.

Who created this prize?

These prizes are awarded to honour the memory of Joseph S. Stauffer, whose bequest enabled the Canada Council to encourage young artists from Canada of outstanding promise or potential.

How to Qualify

You do not apply for these prizes. Applicants to some grant programs are eligible and will be considered for prizes. Visit Grants | The Canada Council for the Arts to learn more about our granting programs.

Additional information

Annual competition

Prize amount

Up to
$5,000

By Grant Application

Cumulative list of winners

The Canada Council is committed to equity in all its activities, including the administration of our prizes and awards.

Accessibility

If you are Deaf, hard of hearing, or a TTY user, please use your preferred MRS (Message Relay Service) or IP service to contact the Canada Council.

The Canada Council for the Arts can also receive calls from a video relay service (VRS). For more information, visit the VRS Canada website.