Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2012 Winners Announced

The 2012 winners are an internationally acclaimed and diverse group who combine outstanding artistic ability with a desire to engage and champion the arts throughout the region. All the winners have a strong exhibition history regionally and internationally, and are actively involved in inspiring the next generation of artists from the region to achieve success. The winning artists are:

•  Taysir Batniji (Palestine)
•  Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige (Lebanon)
•  Wael Shawky (Egypt)
•  Risham Syed (Pakistan)
•  Raed Yassin (Lebanon)

Photo from left to right:
Nat Muller (Guest Curator), Taysir Batniji. Courtesy Abraaj Capital Art Prize

Photo from left to right:
Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Raed Yassin. Courtesy Abraaj Capital Art Prize

Photo:
Wael Shawky. Courtesy Abraaj Capital Art Prize

Photo:
Risham Syed. Courtesy Abraaj Capital Art Prize

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize is awarded on the basis of a proposal for art projects submitted earlier in 2011. The Selection Committee includes leading experts in the field of the visual arts including: Antonia Carver, Director, Art Dubai; Dana Farouki, Patron; Ali Khadra, Publisher and Editor in Chief, Canvas Magazine; Salwa Mikdadi, Executive Director, Arts & Culture Program, Emirates Foundation; Jessica Morgan, Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, Tate; Elaine Ng, Editor, Art Asia Pacific; Glenn Lowry, Director, the Museum of Modern Art; and Sharmini Pereira, ACAP 2011 Guest Curator.

Marking the announcement, Frederic Sicre, Partner at Abraaj Capital and Head of the Abraaj Strategic Stakeholder Engagement Track (ASSET) said:
“The Abraaj Capital Art Prize presents a unique platform for aspiring artists in the region to showcase their work to the global arts community. Heading into its fourth year, this prize embodies Abraaj Capital’s unwavering commitment to the promotion of the arts throughout the region and has become a powerful tool to empower individual potential and nurture exceptional artistic talent.”

Savita Apte, Chair of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize, added:
“We have an outstanding group of winners this year who come from incredibly diverse backgrounds and are actively engaged in developing dynamic cultural experiences within the arts sector in their respective home countries. It will be exciting to see how these five artists will work with our guest curator for the collaboration that will be unveiled at Art Dubai in March 2012”.

About the Abraaj Capital Art Prize

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize was founded in 2008 and is in its fourth edition. The aim of the prize is to reflect Abraaj Capital’s dedication to empowering potential in the region, giving talented artists the opportunity to break new ground and showcase the rich artistic and cultural heritage of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region. It rewards chosen artists from this region on the basis of a proposal rather than completed works-of-art. The winning artists then go on to create the works. The Prize is aimed at curators and artists working together as opposed to a single artist. To date, the 2009, 2010 and 2011 works were unveiled at Art Dubai and artworks have been exhibited at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York; City Hall, London; MAXXI, Rome; Galleria Civica, Modena; Future of a Promise, collateral event of the 54th Venice Biennale; Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Dubai and the Maraya Arts Centre, Sharjah.

For more on the history and future of the prize visit:
http://www.abraajcapitalartprize.com