UBC Okanagan’s Tania Willard has received one of Canada’s most significant honours in the arts. Willard, who serves as Director of the UBC Okanagan Gallery, was presented with the 2025 Sobey Art Award during a ceremony in Ottawa. Shortlisted earlier this year, she is part of a group exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada, where her work will remain on display until February 2026.

A mixed Secwépemc and settler artist, Willard is a curator whose work explores land-based art practices. As an associate professor in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, she focuses on connecting art with land, culture and family. Her projects include BUSH Gallery and initiatives supporting Secwépemc language revitalization.

Willard completed her Master of Fine Arts at UBC Okanagan in 2018 and has led the Indigenous Art Intensive since that time. She joined the university as an Assistant Professor of Visual Arts in 2019 and later became Director of the UBC Okanagan Art Gallery.

Established in 2002, the award is funded by the Sobey Art Foundation and presented in partnership with the National Gallery of Canada. This year, $465,000 in prize funding was distributed, including $100,000 to the winner. Shortlisted artists receive $25,000 and longlisted artists receive $10,000.

In addition to this recognition, Willard was recently appointed director and curator of UBC Vancouver’s Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery, a role she will begin in January. She will also join the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory as an associate professor.

Willard remains committed to supporting artistic development in smaller communities, noting the value of art in rural reserves and cities like Kelowna and the importance of encouraging its presence everywhere.

Source: The University of British Columbia – Okanagan Campus