48 artists have been shortlisted for the Paulo Cunha e Silva Art Prize
Created by the Porto Municipality, the prize annually awards an artist under 40 years old a cash prize of €25,000, shortlisted artists must also have had “no more than one solo exhibition in art venues with an 'international reputation'.”
The artists were selected by a group of 16 curators including Hans Ulrich Obrist, Nancy Spector ou Elena Filipovic, each of whom selected three artists. The winner will be announced in June and will be awarded a solo show at the Porto municipal gallery. Nominated artists include Marwa Arsanios, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Sophia Al-Maria and Clara Ianni.
Dalila Dalléas awarded the Art Paris prize
The “L’art est vivant” prize has been awarded to artist Dalila Dalléas at the Art Paris fair. Each year an artist is selected from the “Promesses” section of the fair which is running at the Grand Palais in Paris until Sunday.
Born in Oran in Algeria in 1974, Dalléas is represented by the gallery Cécile Fakhoury based in Abidjan who are participating in Art Paris for the first time. The artist’s work focuses on a rereading of history based on photographs of women without their veils during the darkest years of Algeria’s history. Last year Dalléas participated in the Dak’Art Biennale. More via the gallery.
Dalila Dalléas @ gallery Cécile Fakhoury
Programme information on 1:54 New York released
The contemporary African art fair 1:54 whose next edition is to take place in New York from May 5 through 7 have released details of their talks programme FORUM. The program will be led by Raél Jero Salley, professor of Art History at Maryland Institute College of Art. Curator Koyo Kouoh, founder and artistic director of RAW Material Company, said in a statement “As artist methodologies filter into and blur academic disciplines, activist, and social practices, we look to the radical traditions of art-making in search of strategies for political liberation.”
Participants include Adrienne Edwards, curator at Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center and New York’s Performa; Thomas J. Lax, curator at New York’s Museum of Modern Art; Ugochukwu-Smooth Nzewi, curator of African art at Hood Museum of Art at New Hampshire’s Dartmouth College; and curator Nicola Vassell, founder of Concept NV. More via Artnet.
1:54 NYC 2016
Embezzlement scandal at the Hermitage museum
The assistant director of the Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg has been put under house arrest and is suspected of embezzling funds during the construction of a new museum building. In a press release the museum confirmed that the Federal Security Service had been conducting operational procedures connected to the Hermitage construction.
In 2015 the museum confirmed a $66 million building contract, transferring 1 million roubles ($18,000) to a construction company. The newspaper Kommersant however has reported that work has not yet begun. Read more on The Art Newspaper.