Wael Shawky honored with the Ernst Schering Foundation Art Award 2011

Dal Thursday 24 February 2011
al Thursday 24 March 2011

Egyptian artist Wael Shawky has been selected as the winner of the Ernst Schering Foundation Art Award 2011. The prize, which is awarded by the Ernst Schering Foundation in cooperation with KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, includes a solo exhibition at KW, a catalog and a prize money of 10,000 Euros. The prize is awarded for the fourth time and for the second time in cooperation with KW.

The jury consists of Horst Bredekamp (Humboldt University Berlin, member of the foundation council of the Ernst Schering Foundation, Berlin), Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev (dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel), Elena Filipovic (WIELS, Brussels), Susanne Pfeffer (KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin) and Rein Wolfs (Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel). To support their choice out of the 15 artists nominated by international curators, the jury states: “Wael Shawky’s film oeuvre is remarkably impressive due to its consistent development and extraordinary precision: His re-performances of historical and political events ignite unconventional perspectives, which exceed reflections of Egyptian societal structures. He creates images that are crafted with technical mastership and therefore induce an immediate persuasiveness.”

The solo exhibition of Wael Shawky at KW Institute for Contemporary Art will take place in December 2011.

Wael Shawky lives in Alexandria where he was born in 1971. He studied Fine Art at the University of Alexandria and the Graduate School of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania (USA). His work has been shown at the 50th Biennale di Venezia (2003) and the 9th Istanbul Biennale (2005) among other places.

The curators invited to nominate artists: Lerato Bereng (ZA), Wang Dong (CN), Galit Eilat (NL), Peter Eleey (USA), Massimiliano Gioni (IT), Jens Hoffmann (USA), Anthony Huberman (USA), Abdellah Karroum (MA), Chus Martínez (ES), Stéphanie Moisdon (FR), Jessica Morgan (GB), Nicolaus Schafhausen (NL), Basak Senova (TR), Christine Tohme (LB), What, How and for Whom / WHW (HR).

The Ernst Schering Foundation Art Award
The Ernst Schering Foundation Art Award honors international artists who can be considered as the most important newcomers in the last couple of years and who pursue an outstanding original artistic approach. The award includes prize money of 10,000 Euros, a solo exhibition at KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin and a catalog. Since 2005, the Ernst Schering Foundation Art Award has been awarded biannually.

The Ernst Schering Foundation aims to promote science and art, with a special focus on the natural sciences and the contemporary visual and performing arts. In addition, the Foundation promotes the scientific and cultural education of children and youth, and the dialogue between science and society. The Foundation puts particular emphasis on projects in frontier areas, especially at the interface of art and science.

For press inquiries, please contact:

KW Institute for Contemporary Art
Denhart v. Harling
Press and Communication
Phone: +49. 30. 24 34 59 42
press@kw-berlin.de
www.kw-berlin.de

Ernst Schering Foundation
Martina Schrammek
Press and Public Relations
Phone: +49. 30. 20 62 29 66
schrammek@scheringstiftung.de
www.scheringstiftung.de

The cultural programs of KW Institute for Contemporary Art are made possible thanks to the support of the Governing Mayor of Berlin – Senate Chancellery – Cultural Affairs.

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