Faced with - justified - controversy, the Prix Meurice ends its prize-giving
The new Sharia penal code that came into effect on April 3 in Brunei - notably including the death sentence by stoning for homosexual relations and adultery, public flogging for abortion, and amputation of a hand for theft - has led to an inevitable decision.
With the Hotel Meurice belonging to the sultan of Brunei since 1997, Director General Franka Holtmann has announced the suspension of the Prix Meurice for contemporary art given the "current situation", presenting the decision as the "most reasonable, although highly regretful".
Although people have been aware of the situation within the sultanate for many years, the intervention of "Meurice 4 Stoning" - a pseudonym used by Virgile Graisse and Georgia René-Worms - was required to force a decision to be made. On the run-up to the submission deadline for the 12th edition of the Prix Meurice, "Meurice 4 Stoning" anonymously contacted every gallery which has participated since 2013.
"This concerning silence echoes the difficult position of artists with regards to their financial dependence on systems which they do not necessarily agree with politically", added Virgile Graisse and Georgia René-Worm. Read further via documentations.
Collectors | Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo wins the Leo Award
The famous Italian collector has owned a foundation in Turin since 1995, where part of her collection (over 1,500 contemporary works) is housed. She will open a new space at the Matadero Madrid Arts Complex at the end of the year.
In New York, Independent Curators International awarded the collector the Leo Award in homage to Leo Castelli, reserved for those who show “extraordinary commitment to artists and pioneering contributions to the field of contemporary art”.
Amongst previous winners of the prize are Dimitris Daskalopoulos, Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, Miuccia Prada, Dasha Zhukova, gallerist Marian Goodman, and LACMA director Michael Govan. Read further via Artnews.
Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo at Matadero Madrid
