On the occasion of their coinciding 25th anniversaries, The Armory Show and Étant donnés Contemporary Art are pleased to announce Kapwani Kiwanga represented by Galerie Poggi – Paris, as the winner of the inaugural Étant donnés Prize, which will award $10,000 to the artist. By helping to support the development of the winning artist’s practice and professional network, the Etant donnés Prize aims to enhance the visibility of the vibrant French art scene on an international scale.
The Étant donnés Prize jury was composed of key figures of the international art scene: Massimiliano Gioni, Chief Curator of the New Museum, NYC, Philippe Vergne, Director of the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, and Suzanne Deal Booth, an American art advisor and collector long committed to the recognition, preservation and conservation of visual arts and cultural heritage. The jury selected the winner among over 30 French and France-based living artists represented by a gallery at the 2019 edition of The Armory Show.
Since its inception in 1994, Étant donnés has developed an international reputation by allocating over $3 million to fund more than 300 projects and up to 30 curators. Institutions that have been supported by the fund include the Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum, the DIA Art Foundation, MoMA PS1, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the MCA in Chicago, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the Wexner Art Center in Ohio.
“We could not hope for a better winning artist than Kapwani Kiwanga for this first-ever Etant-donnés Prize,” says Bénédicte de Monltaur, Cultural counselor of the French Embassy in the US “The artist, from Canada of Tanzanian decent and who has lived in France for many years, is the recipient of numerous artistic prizes. She is emblematic of the high-quality and diversity of the art scene in France.”
“Her position as Commissioned Artist at The Armory Show 2016 edition is among one of the very first steps in her emergence on the American art scene and has been a catalyst for her career and for the gallery,” states Jérôme Poggi, Owner, Galerie Jérôme Poggi. “Since 2016, we have showed her work three times at The Armory Show, including this year’s solo show, which is intimately tied to the one MIT is currently dedicating to her work.”
“The work of France-based artist Kapwani Kiwange is an astute investigation of the continued impact of colonialism on our society,” said Philippe Vergne, Director of the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, “We were captivated by her vision and the depth of her work”.
Note To Editors
The Armory Show
The Armory Show is New York City’s premier art fair, and a leading cultural destination for discovering and collecting the world’s most important 20th- and 21st-century art. Staged on Manhattan’s Piers 90, 92, and 94, The Armory Show features presentations by leading international galleries, innovative artist commissions, and dynamic public programs. Since its founding in 1994, The Armory Show has served as a nexus for the international art world, inspiring dialogue, discovery, and patronage in the visual arts.
Étant donnés Contemporary Art
Étant donnés Contemporary Art is a program of the FACE Foundation, developed with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States. The Étant donnés fund is aimed at strengthening ties between France and the US in the field of contemporary art by fostering active collaboration and encouraging long-lasting partnerships between French visual artists, curators, and collectives, and American curators and cultural institutions. Since its inception in 1994, Étant donnés has developed an international reputation by allocating over $3 million to fund more than 300 projects and up to 30 curators. Institutions that have been supported by the fund include the Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum, the DIA Art Foundation, MoMA PS1, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the MCA in Chicago, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the Wexner Art Center in Ohio.
Kapwani Kiranga
Born in 1978, in Hamilton, Ontario, Kapwani Kiwanga is a Paris-based artist who traces historical narratives, excavating and considering the global impact of colonialism and how it permeates contemporary culture. Her work is research-driven, instigated by marginalized or forgotten histories, and articulated across a range of materials and mediums including sculpture, installation, photography, video, and performance. Kiwanga won the Frieze Artist Award in 2018 and her upcoming solo exhibition at MIT List Visual Arts Center in Cambridge, MA (Feb. 7-April 14) was selected in 2018 for a Etant donnés Contemporary Art grant.
Gallery Jérôme Poggi
One of the leading young galleries in Paris, Gallery Jérôme Poggi was founded by curator and art historian Jérôme Poggi in 2009, the gallery was initially located in the North of Paris, and opened its main space in 2014 by the Centre Pompidou, in the Marais. The gallery represents around 20 international artists from different generations. It is present at the main international art fairs such as Fiac (Paris), The Armory Show (New York) ARCO (Madrid) ARTBO, Materials (Mexico).
Media Contact:
Camille Desprez, Cultural Services of the French Embassy, camille.desprez@diplomatie.gouv.fr, +1.212.439.1417