Pedro Barbáchano (Concordia) and Stanley Wany (UQAM) receive the 2025 Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Fellowship in Contemporary Art

Montreal, April 8, 2025 — Pedro Barbáchano, artist and MFA graduate from Concordia University, and Stanley Wany, artist and MFA graduate in visual and media arts from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), have been awarded the 2025 Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Fellowship in Contemporary Art.

Strengthened commitment to emerging contemporary artists

The Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Family Foundation has renewed and expanded its commitment to supporting emerging artists by increasing the fellowship amount by $28,800, raising it from $60,000 to $88,800 per artist over two years.

“We are extremely proud to continue supporting emerging talent in Quebec,” say Claudine and Stephen Bronfman. “In these challenging times, patronage of our artists and universities is vital to ensuring that the next generations flourish and contribute in meaningful ways — locally and internationally”

“I am delighted that our universities, in collaboration with the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Foundation, have not only renewed but also enhanced their support for artists,” says Joanne Lalonde, Dean of the Faculty of Arts at UQAM. “This fellowship represents an enrichment in every sense of the word, providing increased financial support as well as access to exceptional experiences that serve as invaluable career springboards for the recipients.”

“We are grateful to Claudine and Stephen Bronfman for their generous support of these talented emerging artists,” says Annie Gérin, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia. “The Bronfman Fellowship allows these artists to fully dedicate themselves to their practice, empowering them to create transformative work.”

In addition to the fellowship, UQAM and Concordia University will provide each laureate with a teaching contract valued at $12,500.

2025 laureates

Stanley Wany – UQAM

“As an artist, my work seeks to propose alternative narratives to dominant discourses by exploring African knowledge systems, Afro-diasporic communities, archives and my own family history. I am deeply grateful to the Bronfman Foundation for its generous financial support. This assistance will allow me to deepen my research, expand my scope and produce more ambitious works. I would also like to thank the Faculty of Arts at UQAM for its continued support throughout my journey.”

Bio

Stanley Wany is a multidisciplinary artist whose work revisits colonial and historical archives to uncover the history of his African-descendant ancestors. After a residency in Finland, he transitioned to visual arts, incorporating the historicity of narratives found in popular culture into his research. Through drawing, painting, installation, and experimental graphic novels, he deepens his reflections on popular culture, myths, and the subconscious in relation to the experience of African-descendant individuals in Western society. By experimenting with symbolically charged materials such as coffee, molasses, indigo, and cotton, he embodies the concept of "créolisation" popularized by Édouard Glissant.

In 2025, in partnership with the CIÉCO research and reflection group, he is taking part in a research residency on decolonial museology at the Redpath Museum. He recently completed a research-creation residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program in Brooklyn. 

stanleywany.ca
Instagram

Pedro Barbáchano – Concordia

“The fellowship will give me the time to broaden the scope of my research and establish an artistic practice in the coming years. My work attempts to understand our moment marked by the displacement and erasure of bodies, sites and cultural heritage. The flexibility and mobility will allow me to engage meaningfully with archival collections in museums across the world, fostering a network of human and institutional connections and bringing my work to new audiences.”


Bio

Pedro Barbáchano is an artist and curator based in Montreal. His research and photographic work observe speculative archaeology, question historical records, and reframe monuments. His publications, installations and exhibitions have been presented in Spain, Egypt and Canada (including at Artexte, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, the Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery and The New Gallery). Barbáchano has received awards such as the Roloff Beny Fellowship and the Gabor Szilasi Prize in Photography, as well as support from the Canada Council for the Arts. His work is held in private collections in Canada and Spain. He has lectured at Concordia University and contributes to public programming at the Canadian Centre for Architecture. 

pedrobarbachano.com  
Instagram

Previous Laureates

To date, 32 outstanding artists have been awarded the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Contemporary Art Fellowship:

2024: Kuh Del Rosario (Concordia) and Lynn Kodeih (UQAM)
2023: Maude Arsenault (UQAM) and Kyle Alden Martens (Concordia)
2022: Diyar Mayil (Concordia) and Rémi Belliveau (UQAM)
2021: Leila Zelli (UQAM) and Nico Williams (Concordia)
2020: Mara Eagle (Concordia) and Heidi Barkun (UQAM)
2019: Céline Huyguebaert (UQAM) and Madeleine Mayo (Concordia)
2018: Frédérique Laliberté (Concordia) and Émilie Serri (UQAM)
2017: Andréanne Abbondanza-Bergeron (Concordia) and Martin Leduc (UQAM)
2016: Yannick Desranleau (Concordia) and Guillaume Adjutor Provost (UQAM)
2015: Myriam Jacob-Allard (UQAM) and Velibor Božović (Concordia)
2014: Brendan Flanagan (Concordia) and Marie Dauverné (UQAM)
2013: Nadia Seboussi (UQAM) and Kim Waldron (Concordia)
2012: Julie Favreau (Concordia) and Sébastien Cliche (UQAM)
2011: Aude Moreau (UQAM) and Pavitra Wickramasinghe (Concordia)
2010: Steve Bates (Concordia) and Véronique Savard (UQAM)

About the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Fellowship in Contemporary Art 

The Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Fellowship in Contemporary Art is one of the most prestigious and generous awards for promising Canadian artists. It supports exceptional visual or media artists who have graduated from UQAM and Concordia University, whose careers are still emerging, contributing to the development of arts and culture on a national and international scale.

Learn more about the laureates and fellowship.
For the French version of the release, visit this page.

Note: The photos of the latest laureates are available upon request. Both laureates are available for interviews.

Sources :
Julie Meunier
Conseillère en communication
Division des relations avec la presse et événements spéciaux
Service des communications
Tel.: 514 987-3000, poste 1707
Cell.: 514 895-0134
meunier.julie@uqam.ca

Fiona Downey
Senior Advisor, Media Relations and Public Affairs
Concordia University
Cell: 514-518-3336
fiona.Downey@concordia.ca