The Abraaj Group Art Prize, now in its sixth year, is delighted to announce the five winning artists for its 2014 edition. The Abraaj Group Art Prize is awarded annually to five artists from the Middle East and South Asia on the basis of proposals for new artworks, which become permanent additions to The Abraaj Group Art Collection following their exhibition at Art Dubai (March 19–22, 2014). The Abraaj Group, a leading private equity manager investing in global growth markets, launched The Abraaj Group Art Prize in 2008 to foster and reward artistic development in the region.
The selected artists have a strong exhibition history regionally and internationally, and have shown works in recent editions of Art Dubai, and the Sharjah, Kochi-Muziris and Venice Biennales, among other major exhibitions. The prize affords winners the opportunity to develop ambitious projects which without the granted funds may not have been possible to produce.
The winning artists announced by The Abraaj Group Art Prize are:
– Abbas Akhavan
– Kamrooz Aram
– Bouchra Khalili
– Basim Magdy
– Anup Mathew Thomas
Further information on the artists is available at www.abraajgroupartprize.com.
The artists will now start working closely with the selected Guest Curator for 2014, the London-based Pakistani curator Nada Raza. She has the responsibility of supervising the production of the artworks, their display at Art Dubai and the publishing of an annual catalogue. Raza’s appointment was announced in May 2013.
The Selection Committee for the prize comprises leading experts in the field of the visual arts including Antonia Carver, Director, Art Dubai; Dana Farouki, Patron; Salwa Mikdadi, art historian and curator; Jessica Morgan, Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, Tate; Glenn Lowry, Director, the Museum of Modern Art; and Murtaza Vali, The Abraaj Group Art Prize 2013 Guest Curator.
Previous winners of The Abraaj Group Art Prize have gone on to achieve further accolades, and are recognised as established artists in the international arts world. New works by winning artists are being acquired by important collections such as MoMA and Tate, and works from The Abraaj Group Art Collection are increasingly requested for loan by leading institutions and biennials. A work by 2013 Abraaj Group Art Prize winner Rayyane Tabet is currently displayed at the 55th Venice Biennale as part of The Future Generation Art Prize, while 2010 prize winner Kader Attia recently opened his first institutional solo exhibition in Germany; 2012 winner Wael Shawky participated in Sharjah Biennial 11; and both Attia and Shawky have displayed works at dOCUMENTA 13. 2013 prize winner Iman Issa is participating in group shows including Tea with Nefertiti at the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; and the recent Homeworks 6 in Beirut.
For more on the history and future of the prize, visit our website.
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Enquiries:
The Abraaj Group
Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)
Gate Village 8, 3rd Floor
PO Box 504905
abraajprize [at] artdubai.ae / T +9714394 2007 / Abraaj Switchboard: +971 45064400
