VANCOUVER.- The winner of the first-ever Lind Prize for Emerging Artists is Vilhelm Sundin of Simon Fraser University. Sundin receives $5000 and will have his work exhibited in the forthcoming Polygon Gallery when it opens in 2017. In a surprise announcement, judges also awarded runner up prizes to two students: Kerri Flannigan of the University of Victoria and Polina Lasenko of Emily Carr University. Each received $1000. Presentation House Gallery director Reid Shier and the prize's namesake, Philip B. Lind, were on hand to congratulate the young artists.

Sundin was one of 8 students shortlisted for the prestigious new art prize. His work, along with that of other nominees, is currently on exhibit at Vancouver's Roundhouse Community Centre as part of the Capture Photography Festival. Sundin's video installations bring together the sublime and the everyday. In one a giant moon hovers over the city, familiar but strange. In another, the tiny figure of a man can be seen smoking quietly on an apartment rooftop as smoke blankets the city.

The Philip B Lind Prize has been established to support emerging artists working in photography, film and video. Each year, post-secondary visual arts instructors are invited to nominate a student enrolled in a BFA or MFA program. Shortlisted students have their work exhibited as part of the Philip B Lind Prize exhibition at Vancouver's Roundhouse Community Centre, and a winner is selected and announced the night of the exhibition opening celebration.

The prize is made possible with generous support from Rogers Communications. Rogers made a significant donation to Presentation House Gallery to honour Phil Lind’s 45 years of service and contribution to the company and the communications industry, and to celebrate his passion for the Vancouver art scene at the time of his retirement last year.

The 2016 Philip B Lind Prize jury included Stephen Waddell (artist and Emily Carr University of Art and Design faculty member), Helga Pakasaar (Curator, Presentation House Gallery) and Reid Shier (Director/Curator, Presentation House Gallery).