The Abraaj Group Art Prize 2015: call for applications
Curators’ application deadline: June 22, 2014
Artists’ application deadline: June 29, 2014
abraajprize [at] artdubai.ae
www.abraajgroupartprize.com
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The Abraaj Group Art Prize is an art prize for artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Uniquely rewarding proposals rather than completed works of art, winners are announced each autumn and go on to produce works which are revealed the following March.
The Abraaj Group Art Prize has opened applications for curators and artists to apply. In an evolution to the format of recent years, following the application process and jury meetings, four artists will be shortlisted for the prize and one (of the four) artists awarded the 100,000 USD commission. The commissioned work will be exhibited as part of the Abraaj Group Art Prize exhibition at Art Dubai 2015, before becoming part of The Abraaj Group Art Collection. The three shortlisted artists will receive a cash prize and be represented in the exhibition through previous works, which will be carefully selected by the Guest Curator in liaison with the artist.
The annual prize and accompanying exhibition is a platform for recognising particularly notable artists in the region and for showcasing their work on an international stage to museum directors, curators, critics, gallerists, their peers, and the public.
The Abraaj Group Art Prize: Calling Artists: Artists from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia—born, living and working in the region or with some part of their artistic career based in MENASA—are invited to apply with a proposal for an as-yet-unrealised project (which would be created in advance of Art Dubai 2015).
The shortlisted artists for The Abraaj Group Art Prize will be mid-career, having already participated in exhibitions to critical acclaim. Artists will have produced particularly significant bodies of work in the past couple of years, their practice having expanded or developed during this time. Their work must be original, initiating new ideas and concepts, and be seen as influential to both emerging artists and their contemporaries.
The Abraaj Group Art Prize: calling curators: Curators are invited to apply for the position of Curator of The Abraaj Group Art Prize 2015. The selected curator will liaise directly with the artists, selecting significant works that best represent the three shortlisted artists, and working with the winning artist on the development and production of their new work. The curator will also be responsible for editing and providing content for the accompanying catalogue or e-publication. Curators can originate from any country in the world and be based anywhere. Applicants are expected to have quantifiable experience in the field of curating on an international level, and have an active interest in the development of artistic practice in the Middle East and South Asia.
Alongside the prize, The Abraaj Group this year launched The Abraaj RCA Innovation Scholarship, thereby broadening and deepening their support for the arts. For the next five years, each year, the Scholarship supports five exceptional post-graduate students from Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. The Scholarship will cover full international tuition fees to study at a Master’s level for two years at the Royal College of Art in London.
Notes: All applications to The Abraaj Group Art Prize must be made electronically via the online system within the set deadline. Visit The Abraaj Group Art Prize website for the selection criteria for both artists and curator and to apply.
Works from The Abraaj Group Art Collection have gone on exhibit worldwide at venues including Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian’s Museum of Asian Art, Washington D.C; the Venice Biennale; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Sharjah Biennial; and the Singapore Art Museum, among others.
