Nancy-Lou Patterson was the founder of the Fine Arts Department at the University of Waterloo. She was also widely known as a writer, artist, scholar, teacher, novelist and poet whose educational and artistic career spanned five decades. This prize is awarded every year in her honour.
The award, valued at $1,500, is provided annually to a full-time undergraduate student enrolled in Year Two, Three, or Four of any program in the Department of Fine Arts in the Faculty of Arts. Selection is based on the quality of the work on paper submitted – technical and conceptual – and the presentation of the work. The award has been established by Francesca Patterson, with support from The Patterson Rozee Family Foundation, (a donor advised fund at Canada Gives), to honour her mother, Distinguished Professor Emerita Nancy-Lou Patterson, who was the founder of the Fine Arts Department at the University of Waterloo, and the first woman at the University of Waterloo to receive the Distinguished Professor Emerita designation.
Eligible works MUST be on paper, either 2D or 3D, in any medium. To enter, simply hang your work (maximum 3 pieces per student) in one of the designated hallway spaces in East Campus Hall before Wednesday, March 11 at noon. Fill out the entry form on the wall next to your work. The winner of this $1500 award will be announced at the Fine Arts Awards Day Ceremony on Thursday, March 19, 2026. Please leave your work on display until Monday, March 30th.
Any questions, see Brett Roberts in ECH 1206.