CARDIFF.- On October 21st the Artes Mundi 7 Exhibition and Prize in Cardiff opened its doors to the British public, presenting a major exhibition of work from six of the world’s most innovative contemporary artists. Artes Mundi 7 is the UK’s largest contemporary art prize, with the winner receiving the sum of £40,000. The prize is open to artists whose work explores social issues which relate to the theme of ‘The Human Condition’.
This year’s prize show takes place across two venues:
National Museum Cardiff and Chapter Gallery. Highlights of this year’s prize show include the world premiere of Transitory Suppository: Act #I Another Leader by Nástio Mosquito (Angola/Belgium), in which a despotic leader of a country called Botrovia begins to propose what he sees as fast and practical solutions to world problems and the premiere of Bedwyr Williams (UK/Wales) piece Tyrrau Mawr (2016) in which he reimagines a mega city in North Wales exploring how these sprawling new cities displace people, communities, histories, creating and destroying in equal measures.
John Akomfrah OBE (UK), presents his diptych film Auto da Fé (2016) which which uses the aesthetics of a period drama to consider the historical and contemporary causes of migration, focusing on religious persecution as a major cause of global displacement. Lamia Joreige’s (Lebanon) Under-Writing Beirut explores Lebanon’s complex history of conflict and how Beirut’s past and present continues to affect the city and its people. Amy Franceschini (USA) has travelled to Cardiff from Oslo by boat retracing the migratory journey of seeds, which will explore the politics of food production and the countries that our foods originate from. Neïl Beloufa’s (France/Algeria), will present a series of films including Monopoly (2016) where a group of Ukrainian teenagers to play Monopoly. The playfulness of this work belies the seriousness of the issues it takes on, questioning politics and power structures.
Karen MacKinnon, Artes Mundi’s Director and Curator said “Artes Mundi 7 brings together the work of six outstanding international artists. Through their work they examine important global issues such as migration, technology, ecological issues, capitalism and global politics. These artists question what it means to be human in our world and in our time. Whether their works explore the current situation in Angola, fictional future cities, the politics of food production or migration from Syria to Beirut; there is humour, surrealism and provocation. But what connects this diverse exhibition is relevance and urgency, as they comment on and question the spirit of our age.”
The winner of Artes Mundi 7 will be announced on 26th January 2017 at an award ceremony in Cardiff. The international panel of judges for Artes Mundi 7 is chaired by Oliver Basciano; editor (international) at ArtReview and ArtReview Asia.
