Dear Patron,
In 2016, we launched the ART X Prize, a platform designed to support emerging artists, sponsored by Access Bank. Over three years, the Prize has evolved significantly, with the 2018 edition undergoing several changes. It has been our pleasure to see the progression of all past three winners of the Prize, namely Patrick Akpotojor (2016), Habeeb Andu (2017), and Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola (2018), as well as other finalists who have gone on to launch successful careers.
We are pleased to announce that the Prize has returned in 2019, now renamed as the Access Bank ART X Prize. This year, the Prize will further bolster the efforts of emerging artists who have demonstrated a commitment to careers as professional visual artists. ART X believes that supporting such talent will ensure the continued growth of the visual art sector in Nigeria. In the absence of infrastructure that exists in other international centres for contemporary art, the Access Bank ART X Prize aims to contribute to the burgeoning contemporary art sector in Nigeria.
The 2019 winner of the Access Bank ART X Prize will receive the following:
The Jury
The Prize will be judged by a jury of internationally acclaimed artists and practitioners, with several years of prestigious industry experience.
Emeka Ogboh, a Nigerian artist known for his work with sound and gastronomy. Several of his works reframe soundscapes culled from life in Lagos. Ogboh has participated in numerous international exhibitions including documenta 14, (2017), the 56th edition of La Biennale di Venezia, Italy (2015), and the Dakar Biennale (2014). In 2016 Ogboh was awarded the Prize of the Bottcherstraße in Bremen, and in 2018 was shortlisted for the Hugo Boss Prize.
Zina Saro-Wiwa, a British-Nigerian artist working across video, photography, installation and curating . Saro-Wiwa lives between New York, London, and Port Harcourt. She founded the Boys’ Quarters, a space that highlights works by artists residing in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria.
Ibrahim Mahama, a Ghanian artist known for his large-scale installations. He is currently exhibiting in the Ghana Pavilion at the ongoing Venice Biennale and recently opened the Savannah Centre of Contemporary Art, a space for contemporary art in Tamale, Ghana.
Wura-Natasha Ogunji, a renowned Nigerian artist whose mediums include drawings hand-stitched into tracing paper, videos and public performances. She runs the Treehouse, a platform for experimental visual art.
Alessio Antoniolli, Director of Gasworks, London, who has extensive experience in developing art projects at a grass-roots level, as well as with emerging artists both in the UK and internationally.
Eligibility Criteria for applicants:
Applications are now open and will close on
Friday August 16. Five finalists will emerge who will present their work to the jury, and eventually one winner will be revealed in September.
