01 Nov 2017

Awards of StartPoint Prize 2017 announced!

We gladly announce that the winner of STARTPOINT PRIZE 2017 is Michelle Hall from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. The honorary mentions of the jury were given to Tomasz Kobialka (Goldsmiths, London) and Jana Shostak (Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw). Prize of GAVU Cheb for the Czech artist goes to Anna Ročňová (UMPRUM, Prague).
However, we surely owe congratualtions and thanks to all participating artists for inspiring and exciting exhibition!

The largest and most prestigious competition for the graduates of European art academies runs from October 18th till December 10th at the Trade Fair Palace of the National Gallery in Prague. The curatorial team has selected 25 finalists from 39 schools and 17 countries, all of whom were personally invited for the installation and opening. On the opening day of October 18, the international jury, consisting of curators and directors of major European institutions, jointly selected the holder of the main prize and several honorary mentions that include a residency stay in Prague during the following year. In addition, the winner will be provided with funds for the production of his/her own catalogue. All participants are also presented in the project's catalogue and its website.

StartPoint was founded in 2003 at the Klatovy/Klenová Museum of Art, from the year 2009 it was enriched by Started residency programme for awarded artists. Since 2010 is StartPoint Prize an independent project and from 2015 it is a regular part of the autumn programme of the Trade Fair Palace of the National Gallery, but also produces smaller selective exhibitions in other European cities (Bucharest, Gent, Bratislava, Amsterdam). Starting this year, StartPoint is backed by the Contemporary Arts Fund, which also manages the renowned Richard Adam Collection.

The StartPoint Prize is unique not only for its long tradition and span, but also for its independence, where the academies hold only a minority consulting vote. It does not even determine the medium, technique or theme, the most important criterion is the novelty and originality. Its main purpose lies in finding a fresh look at the most recent emerging art across Europe and in its promotion and popularization.
During the fifteen years of StartPoint's existence, hundreds of artists have passed through, many of which are respected stars today, and all of them together create a unique geographical and temporal cross-section of European contemporary art in its most updated form.

Selected artists 2017: Filip Anthonissen, KASK Gent / Aga Beaupré, RCA London / Gagyi Botond, UAD Cluj-Napoca / Otto Byström, KUVA Helsinki / Céline Ducrot, HGB Leipzig / Caz Egelie, HKU Utrecht / Pachet Fulmen, HfBK Hamburg / Michelle Hall, NCAD Dublin / Oskar Jakobsen, KADK Copenhagen / Elina Jonina, LMA Riga / Tomasz Kobialka, Goldsmiths London / Vytautas Kumža, GRA Amsterdam / Pamela Kuťáková, AVU Praha / Selina Lampe, Berlin Weissensee / Anna Madeńska, ASP Łódź / Ole Meergans, UdK Berlin / Irène Mélix, HfBK Dresden / Mariana Murta / AP Hogeschool Antwerpen / Andreas Nur, KKH Stockholm / Anna Ročňová, UMPRUM Prague / Martina Růžičková, FaVU VUT Brno / Jana Shostak, ASP Warsaw / Anastasija Sosunova, VAA Vilnius / Morten Jensen Vågen, KHiO Oslo / Oscar Erik Yran, DFK Odense

Curatorial team 2017: Pavel Vančát, project curator / Marcel Fišer, director, GAVU Cheb, project manager / Lucia Gavulová, Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava / Radek Váňa, curator, Amsterdam¨

International jury 2017: Adam Budak, Chief Curator, National Gallery, Prague / Fons Hof, director, Art Rotterdam art fair / Lolita Jablonskiene, director, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius / Seamus Kealy, director, Salzburger Kunstverein / Adam Mazur, curator and editor, Szum magazine, Warsaw 

Other exhibitions at the Trade Fair Palace:
Julian Rosefeldt: Manifesto
Biafra of Spirit: Third World Students in Czechoslovakia
Introducing Pedro Henriques: Půst
František Skála: Hall A

StartPoint Prize is supported by the Ministry of Culture of Czech Rep., The City of Prague and many other local and international partners.