Call for applications: Henrike Grohs Art Award 2020

The award, which is in its second edition, is a roving biennial art prize conceived by Goethe-Institut and the Grohs family in memory of the former head of Goethe-Institut in Abidjan, Henrike Grohs, who was killed during a terrorist attack in Grand-Bassam in 2016.

Grohs was instrumental in setting up the Music In Africa project in 2011. She served as a board member of the Music In Africa Foundation for two years and stepped down to focus on her responsibilities as the director o Goethe-Institut in Abidjan. She was 51 years old at the time of her death.

The prize is awarded biennially to an artist or arts collective living and working on the African continent and practicing in the field of visual arts. It seeks to support emerging artists in their careers, responding to the challenges of practicing on the African continent. Artistic quality is the most important criteria for the award.

Applications are open and successful applicants will be awarded at the Dakar Biennale in Senegal in May 2020.

Applications must be made online before 15 November.

The prize

• The main prize will be awarded by an international jury to one individual participant or collective of participants who will receive €20 000 ($22 000).
• The amount of €10 000 will be allocated to the production of a publication by the HGAA.
• Two individual artists or artist collectives will be awarded €5 000 each as runners-up. In the case of an artist collective winning, the prize money is awarded to the artist collective, not individually to its members.

Terms and conditions

• Emerging visual artists living and working on the African continent may apply.
• Artists should have been practicing for at least five years, with the ability to display a coherent body of work.
• Artists apply through an open call. All artists except the former award winners are eligible to apply multiple times (once per edition), as long as they follow the application guidelines.
• A selection committee reviews the bulk of the applications and selects up to twenty artists to present to the international jury for final selection. The selection committee and jury are made up of international contemporary art practitioners. Every applicant agrees to pass to the Organisers all rights to use an image of their artwork(s) and images of the award event for publication and communication without any payment.

• Information submitted by the applicant can be reviewed by the organisers at any time to ensure compliance with the rules and conditions.
• An applicant may not amend their entry form or any other information once it has been submitted.
• Registration and participation in the Henrike Grohs Art Award is free of charge.

Timeline

• Artists may submit applications via the online application form within the period of time specified on the website. All applications received outside this period will not be considered.
• Following the close of applications, the selection committee will review applications and provide a shortlist of up to 20 artists, whose names will be announced on the website. The shortlisted artists will be notified by email.
• An international jury will select the winner and two runners-up. The prize winners will be announced at Dakar Biennale.
• The organisers reserve the right to alter this timeline, in accordance with the availability of its members.
• The announcements of the short-listed artists and the winner of the prize will be made available on the Henrike Grohs Art Award website.

View original call here.