ART X, in collaboration with Access Bank, is offering a support grant to Nigerian artists living and working in the country. The ₦1.5 million-grant money will be given as prize money to an indigenous artist whose ongoing art project comes top in a creators’ competition.
Since its inception in 2016, ART X, West Africa’s first and biggest art conference, has given a prize for outstanding artwork selected from among submissions by a panel of seasoned artists. Organizers of the conference say they instituted the prize to encourage local artists and support the growth of the visual arts in Nigeria.
Besides the prize money, the winner of this year’s competition will have a solo presentation of their work at the ART X exhibition in Lagos in November. They will also get mentoring and networking support to complete the project for which they entered the competition. Finally, they will be having a three-month residency at Gasworks, a contemporary art organization in London, in 2020.
Eligibility
These are the requirements you should meet if you’re entering for the prize.
•You should be a Nigerian artist living and creating in Nigeria.
•You must have been practicing visual art for at least three years.
•Not currently enrolled as a student at any art school
However, past attendance or non-attendance of an art school isn’t an entry requirement.
How to Enter
Here’s how to enter this competition.
Submit the following on the ART X website:
1. A proposal document in PDF.
This should contain
•A 100 artist statement, a 100-word narrative bio (which should tell about you and your accomplishments to the present date).
•A CV containing highlights of your achievements in the last three years (in a maximum of three pages).
•Contact information for two references (with at least one based in Nigeria).
•A budget detailing how much you’ve spent on the project thus far.
•Your website and Instagram handle (if these are available).
2. Relevant images
The images should be related to the project you’re working on, and also confirm your identity. They are:
•Five supporting images, covering your past work and the present project you’re working on.
•Image of your studio as it currently looks.
•Proof of citizenship (your National Passport).
Be sure to submit these as high-resolution images (no more than 2 MB each). Images related to the proposed project should be good enough to enable the jury members to visualize it.
The Jury
The jury will consist of established artists, including Wura-Natasha Ogunji, Emeka Ogboh, Ibrahim Mahama, Alessio Antoniolli, and Zina Saro-Wiwa.
What Happens After You Submit Your Entry?
Selected finalists will be contacted by ART X, and will be called to present their works to the jury.
The winner will be announced after the jury completes its appraisal of finalists’ presentations. The winning work will be showcased at the ART X Lagos, which will hold from Friday 1st November to Sunday 3rd November 2019.
If you would like to enter for the Access Bank ART X 2019 Prize, click here.
Featured Image Source: ArtXLagos
