Jackie Karuti has been announced as the winner of the Henrike Grohs Award 2020.
The jury composed of Paula Nascimento (Architect and Independent Curator, Angola), Gabi Ngcobo (Curator and Educator, South Africa), and Sarah Rifky (Writer and Curator, Egypt), stated:
“Our decision was guided by our desire to support practices that showed rigor in their inquiry and commitment to experimentation, and which could truly benefit from the award as a resource. Our review of the applications resulted in a unanimous outcome.”
Jackie Karuti (b. 1987) is an artist based in Nairobi, Kenya. Her practice is largely experimental and employs the use of new media through drawings, video, installations and performance art. Her work is founded on ideas around knowledge production & accessibility as well as the depths of possibility enabled by radical imagination. Karuti is an alumnus of Àsìko, a roaming Pan African art school established by the late Bisi Silva, designed to redress the frequently outdated or non-existent artistic and curatorial curricula at tertiary institutions across Africa. Her work has been exhibited widely, most recently at The Lofoten International Art Festival in Svolvær, Norway (2019), as well as the Dak’Art Biennial (2018). Other projects that respond to her practice include programming the Out-Film Festival in Nairobi 2016-2018 and her online workspace I’ve been working on some MAGIC.
The Henrike Grohs Art Award 2020 is intended to allow her to continue her experimentation and to push her into even more complex enquiries. The award consists of a 20.000 € cash prize and 10.000 € towards the production of a catalogue, and 5.000 € each for the two runners-up Akwasi Bediako Afrane (Ghana) and Sabelo Mlangeni (South Africa).
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the award ceremony has been cancelled. The remaining funds that were to be used to host the ceremony will now be redistributed to the top 17 shortlisted artists. Each artist will receive 500€ to use or share as needed.
For more information visit Henrike Grohs Award
Photo by Tõnis Saadoja
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