de Montigny Contemporary is thrilled to announce that Christine Fitzgerald, the 2023 Karsh Award laureate, has selected the exceptionally talented Ava Margueritte for a year-long mentorship in 2025.

The City of Ottawa’s prestigious Karsh Award honours the remarkable legacy of Yousuf and Malak Karsh, while championing the next generation of photo and lens-based artists through meaningful mentorship.

“I first noticed Ava’s work when she graduated from SPAO: Photographic Arts Centre—her portraits immediately stood out to me,” Christine recalls. “Even then, her immense talent was clear, and that impression has only grown stronger.”

Throughout the year, Christine will guide Ava in refining her artistic vision, sharing insights on both creative and career development, and helping her navigate new opportunities in the photographic arts.

Ava’s reflects on the mentorship: “Christine spoke to our first-year class at SPAO about her work, and I was captivated by her tenacity, ambition, and intentional craft. Christine operates at the highest level in her artistic practice, and to be mentored by her is something I take seriously. At an event in 2018 she told me, ‘I’m going to keep an eye on you, you’re good,’ and she kept her word.”

Together, Ava and Christine are continuing the Karsh tradition of fostering creativity, excellence, and intergenerational support within Ottawa’s vibrant photographic community.

Congratulations to Ava Margueritte, and thank you to Christine Fitzgerald for investing in the future of photographic arts!

Christine Fitzgerald

Christine Fitzgerald is a graduate of the School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa, and Acadia and Dalhousie Universities. She completed an artist residency at the Ottawa School of Art, was an invited artist in residence in print media at York University and was selected as a visual artist for the historic Canada C3 Expedition travelling to Canada’s three coasts, celebrating Canada's 150th anniversary. The work inspired by her expedition experience on the St. Lawrence River was part of the national exhibition Open Channels at the Canada Council for the Arts in Ottawa, Canada, in 2019, and was featured at the International Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2020.

Her work has appeared in over 40 solo/group exhibitions in Canada and internationally, including New York City, Washington, Frankfurt, London, and Barcelona. Christine’s photographs are held in private collections worldwide and in public collections such as Global Affairs Canada, Library and Archives Canada, the City of Ottawa, Queen’s University, and the Government of Ontario.

Christine has received grants from the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition. Her work has been featured by the CBC, the Washington Post, National Geographic, and Canada's History Magazine. Christine has received numerous awards, including the 2016 Fine Art Photographer of the Year at the International Photography Awards in New York City, and the 2017 International Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers (category winner). Her large installation of cyanotype prints was a top jury selection for Art & Science Initiatives, presented at the influential American Geophysical Union International 2022 Meeting in Chicago. 

In 2023, Christine received the prestigious Karsh Award from the City of Ottawa for her outstanding body of work and significant contribution to the artistic discipline in a photo/lens-based medium. In 2024, Christine was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

Ava graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design University with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, majoring in conceptual photography, and a diploma fromthe  School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa. She received a grant from the City of Ottawa and the Ontario Arts Council in 2022. Ava has also received several recognitions including The Marc Guertin Craftsmanship Award, for outstanding photographic craft from the School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa, was shortlisted for the Athens Photo Festival, and a finalist for the Project X Photography Award from the Ottawa Art Gallery, the Ottawa Arts Council and the School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa. Her work is in the City of Ottawa’s permanent art collection, in private collections and has been exhibited nationally and internationally.

Image: Christine Fitzgerald, Karsh’s Brushes, Photographic handprint quatro-colour gum bichromate on palladium, 36 x 26 inches, 2024