Henrike Grohs Art Award to be launched in Abidjan

The €20 000 prize will go to one of three shortlisted African artists. The list with the three names will be announced on 26 February.

“Artistic quality is the most important criteria for the award,” a Goethe-Institut press statement reads. “Collaborative partnership, imparting knowledge to other artists and social engagement are decisive elements for recognition.”

The prize recognises the lifetime achievements of Grohs. It is designed to continue her special commitment to support artists in Africa and make a contribution towards international dialogue. It will be awarded once every two years to an artist or an arts collective practicing in the field of visual arts.

“The Henrike Grohs Art Award is a biennial award dedicated to artists living and working in Africa. Yet the message sent goes far beyond the continent. It is a universal address, a call for reflection and action,” the statement said.

Goethe-Institut secretary-general Johannes Ebert said: “Henrike Grohs truly embodied the principles and values of international cultural exchange as they are understood by the Goethe-Institut. The Grohs family stated that her ‘tireless engagement for cultural exchange will live on’ through the award which ‘supports outstanding artists from the African continent, whose work enables new connections and encounters’.”

Grohs studied ethnology and was the head of Goethe-Institut Abidjan from 2013 until her death. She co-founded a project called Next – Intercultural Projects at the House of World Cultures in Berlin and was its co-owner until 2009.

Between 2002 and 2009 she worked as project manager at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra’s Education Programme. In 2009, she was appointed advisor on culture and development at Goethe-Institut Johannesburg in South Africa.

While in South Africa, 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.