Marian Penner Bancroft

2012 Audain Prize for the Visual Arts

Marian Penner Bancroft is an influential Vancouver-based contemporary photographer. Her work often takes her personal life as the subject, capturing the daily encounters of her family and imagined ancestors. In recent years, Marian Penner Bancroft has also been increasingly interested in exploring the intersection between history, landscape and mapping strategies.

Marian Penner Bancroft was born in Chilliwack, British Columbia in 1947 and studied at the University of British Columbia, the Vancouver School or Art (currently Emily Carr University of Art and Design) and Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (currently Ryerson University). She went on to teach at Simon Fraser, the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and Emily Carr University of Art and Design where is currently an associate professor.

In addition to photography, Marian Penner Bancroft has experimented with other mediums – including sound, text, drawing and sculpture. In 2014, with the support of the Contemporary Art Gallery, she installed a public art installation at the Vancouver Yaletown-Roundhouse Skytrain Station. Photos were installed on the windows of the station to create a kaleidoscope effect, revealing abstract images of branches and shapes. The trees paid tribute to the earliest planting of elms and sequoias in Vancouver that ultimately shaped the history and landscape of the city.

Marian Penner Bancroft’s have received critical acclaim in Canada and abroad. She has been awarded the Canada Council Paris Studio Residency Award (2005), Mayor’s Art Award for Visual Arts (2009), the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts (2012), and the Higashikawa Award for Photographic Achievements (2018).