Visual Arts students Laurena Finéus and Annika Tucksmith, together with alumna Kelsey Shwetz ’22, have been named Autumn 2023 recipients of Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grants. These grants, awarded to artists in the early stages of their career, offer funding ranging from 17,000 to 20,000 Canadian dollars.
The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, established in 1955 by Charles Glass Greenshields, has a rich history of fostering artistic talent. In memory of his mother, Elizabeth, Charles—a distinguished lawyer and amateur artist himself—sought to support emerging artists who are committed to classical techniques in painting, drawing, sculpture, and printmaking. Since its inception, the Foundation has been a beacon of support, offering financial assistance to over 2000 students and artists from 80 countries.
Laurena Finéus’ work has been exhibited at The Ottawa art gallery (2021), Karsh-masson gallery (2021), The Ottawa school of art (2021), and Art Mûr (2019), among others and is part of a range of private collections internationally. In her practice, Finéus has been concerned with representations of black geographies, maroon thought, and migratory histories through an array of painterly imagined landscapes.
Annika Tucksmith's work has been exhibited at the Carrie Haddad Gallery (2022), Albany Center Gallery (2022), and the Carrie Haddad Gallery for an Invitational Exhibit (2021), among others. Her paintings are nestled in landscapes referenced from her upbringing in the Hudson Valley, taking the intimacy of the region to explore broader concepts of coming of age.
Kelsey Shwetz’s work has been exhibited at the Westbund Art Fair, Cadet Capela, Shanghai (2023), Half Gallery LA (2023, solo), and Cadet Capela, Paris (2023, solo), among others. She’s interested in creating work that holds multiple moods and experiences simultaneously, and the mechanics of mythology in a post-mythic age.
