Strathbutler Award

The Strathbutler Award is a biennial prize awarded to a New Brunswick visual artist. It was first awarded in 1991 as an annual prize of $10,000, which increased to $15,000 in 2005.[1] In 2011 it became a biennial award with a value of $25,000, the highest for any visual art prize in New Brunswick.[2]

The Strathbutler is awarded by the Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation, which was founded in 1987 by the New Brunswick philanthropist in order to promote the visual arts and fine crafts. A native of Saint John, Mackay lived from the mid 1980s in a cottage on her family's Rothesay estate, which was called Strathnaver. The cottage having been previously occupied by a man named Butler, she called her house Strathbutler, and later gave the name to her foundation's first art prize.[3]

The Strathbutler Award recipients are chosen by jury. Once informed of the jury's choice, Mackay personally called the winners to congratulate them, and presented them with their awards, accompanied by a poem of her own composition, at a gala.[1] Mackay died in 2004.[3]

Since 2015 award recipients have received an "iconic presentation piece" in the form of a sterling silver and copper knife designed by former Strathbutler laureate Brigitte Clavette. The design is based on the Mackay family crest and named Manu forti (with a strong hand), after the family's motto.[4]