Weekly News Roundup: December 13, 2024
By THE EDITORS
The recipients of the 2024 Thirteen Artists Awards: (top row, left to right) DENVER GARZA, DEREK TUMALA, VIEN VALENCIA, and JEL SUAREZ; (middle row, left to right) RUSS LIGTAS, ISSAY RODRIGUEZ, LUIS ANTONIO SANTOS, and TEKLA TAMORIA; (bottom row, left to right) CATALINA AFRICA, ELLA MENDOZA, JOSHUA SERAFIN, HENRIELLE BALTAZAR PAGKALIWANGAN, and LIV VINLUAN. Courtesy the artists and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila.
Winners of the 2024 Thirteen Artists Awards Revealed
The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in Metro Manila has announced 13 Filipino contemporary artists as the recipients of its 2024 Thirteen Artists Awards (TAA). Now in its 54th year, the triennial TAA celebrates young visual artists whose innovative practice has contributed to the development of contemporary art in the Philippines. The winners include nine multidisciplinary artists—Catalina Africa, Denver Garza, Russ Ligtas, Issay Rodriguez, Luis Antonio Santos, Derek Tumala, Joshua Serafin, Vien Valencia, and Tekla Tamoria—as well as ceramic artist Ella Mendoza, illustrator and printmaker Henrielle Baltazar Pagkaliwangan, self-taught visual artist Jel Suarez, and painter Liv Vinluan. Each awardee was praised for their responsiveness to contemporary realities and ability to push traditional boundaries with their practice.
Front facade of the Centre Pompidou, Paris. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Saudi Arabia Donates EUR 50 Million for Centre Pompidou Renovations
The Royal Commission for AlUla in Saudi Arabia is set to contribute EUR 50 million (USD 52.4 million) toward the refurbishment of Paris’s Centre Pompidou, estimated to cost EUR 262 million (USD 275.5 million) and scheduled to begin later this year. Signed by French culture minister Rachida Dati and her Saudi counterpart Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, the deal aligns with the bilateral ten-year agreement package established in 2018 between the Gulf state and France. These developments are part of the Crown Prince’s Vision 2030 plan to diversify the Saudi economy, moving from oil toward a more progressive cultural profile. As part of these initiatives, France plans to assist in the development of several cultural projects, including a new photography museum in Riyadh; the restoration of Saudi heritage sites such as royal palaces; as well as the digitization, conservation, and promotion of Saudi collections overseen by the National Library of France.
(Left to right) VA-BENE ELIKEM FIATSI, NGUYEN TRINH THI, MU CAO, Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, ROSA CHAVEZ, and SANA NA N’HADA. Photo by Frank van Beek. Courtesy the Prince Claus Fund, Amsterdam.
Recipients of Prince Claus Fund Impact Award 2024 Announced
The Amsterdam-based Prince Claus Fund has announced the recipients of its biannual Prince Claus Fund Impact Award 2024, which celebrates six artists “whose work inspires positive social change and engages with their local communities.” The winners are Chinese poet and novelist Mu Cao; Vietnamese filmmaker Nguyễn Trinh Thi; Guatemalan poet and activist Rosa Chávez; Guinea-Bissau-born filmmaker Sana Na N’Hada; Ghanaian multidisciplinary artivist and philanthropist Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi (also known as crazinisT artisT); and Haitian visual artist Myrlande Constant. For the second edition of the prize, an independent, five-person jury comprising international cultural workers selected the awardees for addressing “political and environmental issues” as well as “the nature of identity and human rights” throughout their practice. An official ceremony was held on December 3 at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, where Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands presented the awards and each artist received an undisclosed, no-strings-attached cash prize.
Portrait of HAN ZISHI. Courtesy the Busan Biennale 2024.
Zishi Han Wins First EAT Prize Artist of the Year Award
The Guangdong Times Museum in Guangzhou has announced Frankfurt-based Chinese artist Zishi Han as the recipient of its 2024 EAT Prize (Prize for Emergence Art Today). In collaboration with Beijing’s Macalline Center of Art (MACA) and the Shanghai Rockbund Art Museum, the award is dedicated to supporting emerging artists who either live and work in China or belong to the Chinese diaspora, with funding, resources, and career development opportunities. Han’s multidisciplinary practice spans installation, sculpture, video, and performance, exploring power structures and their relationship to the human body. He will receive an RMB 80,000 (USD 11,000) production fund as well as an RMB 100,000 (USD 13,800) exhibition budget for an upcoming solo show, set to open at the Guangdong Times Museum in March 2025.
Portrait of REBECCA WEI. Courtesy Levy Gorvy Dayan & Wei, Hong Kong/New York/London.
Lévy Gorvy’s Rebecca Wei Launches New Art Advisory
Following the closure of international blue-chip gallery Lévy Gorvy Dayan & Wei’s Hong Kong outpost in October, former co-founder Rebecca Wei has announced the launch of her premier art advisory firm, Wei & Associates. Dedicated to supporting collectors and institutions across Asia, the firm aims to provide innovative advisory services with a particular focus on high-value 20th and 21st century art. Continuing its partnership with Lévy Gorvy Dayan, the firm will work with a team of international art experts based in London, Tokyo, and Taipei, including Liberté Nuti, former senior director at both Christie’s and Hauser & Wirth Gallery; Chie Ishizaka, former managing director of Christie’s Japan; and Yuyun Chiang, former director and Taiwan representative of both Lévy Gorvy Dayan & Wei and White Cube Gallery. Wei emphasizes the “exciting and opportunity-filled time for the art market in Asia [with] a rising number of private individual and institutional clients seeking support and advice to build meaningful and important collections.”
