Artes Mundi has announced a shortlist of seven internationally recognised artists for its seventh edition. The Cardiff-based international art prize and exhibition celebrates the work of artists whose practice directly engages with everyday life and explores contemporary social issues.
Among a shortlist that includes artists from Japan, Lebanon and Angola, two British artists have made the cut: the acclaimed filmmaker and founder of the Black Audio Film Collective, John Akomfrah OBE, and the Welsh artist Bedwyr Williams.
Akomfrah’s recent projects have included the three-channel film installation Unfinished Conversation (2012) about the life of Stuart Hall, while Williams represented Wales at the 2013 Venice Biennale with the installation, The Starry Messenger, currently on show at the Whitworth Gallery, Manchester.
The full shortlist is: John Akomfrah (UK); Neil Beloufa (France/Algeria); Amy Franceschini/Futurfarmers (USA/Belguim); Lamia Joreige (Lebanon); Nástio Mosquito (Angola); Hito Steyerl (Germany/Japan); and Bedwyr Williams (UK/Wales)
Californian artist Amy Franceschini is the founder of the artist and farming collective, Futurefarmers, which creates international projects around issues relating to food production and transportation. Beirut-based Lamia Joreige makes films, installations and paintings and was the first female Lebanese artist to have a major work acquired by Tate.
Based in the Angolan capital Luanda, Nástio Mosquito makes music, performances, objects, and videos and recently held his first UK solo exhibition, Daily Lovemaking, at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery. Based in Germany, Japanese artist Hito Steyerl’s video works have won her multiple awards internationally.
Unique perspectives
Karen MacKinnon, 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.”
The Artes Mundi 7 selectors were: Elise Atangana, an independent curator based in Paris and Cameroon; Alistair Hudson, director of Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art; and Marie Muracciole, director of the Beirut Art Centre.
The winner of the £40,000 Artes Mundi 7 Prize will be announced in January 2017, with an exhibition of work by the shortlisted artists running from 21 October 2016 to 26 February 2017 at National Museum Cardiff and Chapter, Cardiff. Earlier this year, the Artes Mundi 6 Prize was won by the Chicago artist Theaster Gates.
