Sophie Rees looks into the line-up at this year’s international art competition Artes Mundi.
Artes Mundi, an internationally focused arts organisation that supports contemporary visual artists who create work on the human condition, social reality and lived experience, are back for their seventh awards ceremony this year.
The organisation was founded in 2002 by Welsh artist William Wilkins, and is best known for its international exhibitions and prize, which takes every place other year in Cardiff. This celebration of art is Wales’ biggest contemporary visual art show and offers one of the nominated artists a prize of £40,000, giving them the freedom needed to develop substantial new work, or the time to reflect their practice and develop it. The winner of the Cardiff-based Artes Mundi Prize will be announced in January 2017 following a four-month exhibition of creations by the shortlisted artists.
The process of awarding the nominations for the awards begins with an open call for nominations from all over the world, submitted by curators, directors of museums and galleries, other cultural organisations and members of the public. To be considered for the Artes Mundi Exhibition and Prize artists must have already achieved recognition for the quality of their work in their own country or sphere.
Seven of the world’s most celebrated contemporary artists selected out of a participating 90 countries make up the nominees. This year’s shortlist is below.
John Akomfrah OBE (UK) is a London-based artist, director, writer and theorist known for his ground-breaking The Stuart Hall Project (2013) an historical documentary about esteemed cultural theorist John Stuart Hall, following his ambitions during global, political and cultural change.
Neïl Beloufa (France/Algeria) is a French-Algerian artist known in the UK for his widely-reviewed 2014 ICA show, Counting on People, his first UK institutional exhibition of his work, presenting a selection of his works on film alongside sculptural works.
Amy Franceschini (USA/Belgium) is an American-Belgian contemporary artist and is the founder of the farming collective, Futurefarmers, which focuses on creating international projects that challenge systems of food production and transportation.
Lamia Joreige (Lebanon) is a Lebanese visual artist and filmmaker and was the first female Lebanese artist to be internationally recognised and the first to have a major work acquired by Tate. She explores the possibilities of representation of past Lebanese wars and their aftermath in her works such as The Image in Question (2013).
Nástio Mosquito (Angola) is an Angolan artist who was recently named in The Guardian’s list of Ten African Artists to Look Out For following his first UK solo exhibition at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery, where his work involved a rogues’ gallery of world leaders and celebrities.
Hito Steyerl (Germany) is a German visual artist who focuses on contemporary issues such as feminism and militarisation. Her surreal videos such as Strike (2010) set in the post-internet age have won her multiple awards.
Bedwyr Williams (Wales) is a Welsh artist and one of the UK’s most sought after artists. His quirky style of work such as that seen in Walk a Mile in my Shoes (2006) is celebrated along with his work for representing Wales at the 55th Venice Biennale.
Karen MacKinnon the Artes Mundi’s Director and Curator, said: “These amazing artists bring their own unique perspectives to work that explores what it means to be human in contemporary society. Whether introspective and deeply personal or engaged with broader social and cultural issues, each artist demonstrates the importance of art and culture in our everyday lives, challenging our preconceptions and opening up new ways of engaging with the world around us.”
Artes Mundi 7, Various venues across Cardiff, Exhibitions at National Museum Cardiff and Chapter, Cardiff, Fri 21 Oct 2016-Sun 26 Feb 2017. Info: www.artesmundi.org