In collaboration with the Paddy & Joan Leigh Fermor Arts Fund, the Netherlands’ Eye Filmmuseum has been supporting artists and filmmakers with the annual award since 2015, recognising extraordinary contributions to the world of visual art and film. Following in the footsteps of Hito Steyerl (2015), Ben Rivers (2016), Wang Bing (2017), Francis Alÿs (2018) and Meriem Bennani (2019) is: Kahlil Joseph.
Los Angeles-based artist and filmmaker Khalil Joseph (b.1981, Seattle) is best known for his work producing groundbreaking music videos for musicians including Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, FKA Twigs and Flying Lotus, as well as his large-scale video installations breaking down the barriers between cinema, visual arts, fashion and pop music. His often political work focuses on the experience of African-Americans in the United States.
The international jury, made up of chair Sandra den Hamer (Eye Filmmuseum director), Apichatpong Weerasethakul (filmmaker), Aernout Mik (artist), Andrea Lissoni (Tate Modern curator), Olivia Stewart (PJLF Arts Fund curator) and Solange Farkas (Associação Cultural Videobrasil curator), said: “His political comments are addressed elegantly - almost seductively - in beautiful, precise installations that show a unique visual approach… He disturbs the boundaries between art forms by using a sophisticated style through which he explores and shows black culture in the United States”.
