OSLO, Norway--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two Norwegian female contemporary artists share prestigious art award of USD 87.000. This year Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL) presents its Royal Caribbean Arts Grant (RCAG) for the 10th time. An international jury has chosen two finalists with close ties to Norway. These two artists stood out among 262 well qualified applicants. The finalists were announced at an award ceremony on board Adventure of the Seas 15th June, during the ship’s visit to Oslo.
The arguments of the jury
“A unanimous jury has decided to nominate
two solid artists who are well on their way to establishing themselves
both in Norway and internationally. Both finalists work with film using
historical narratives and criticism of established precedents reflecting
our present time. The finalists to this year’s Royal Caribbean Arts
Grant are Anawana Haloba and Lene Berg.
Anawana Haloba:
Anawana Haloba is born in Zambia in 1978, and lives
and works in Oslo. She is educated at Rijksakademie van Beeldende
Kunsten in Amsterdam and Kunstakademiet in Oslo. Haloba works with
performance based video and sound installations – often using her body
as a medium. The jury’s decision to nominate Haloba is based on her
ability to explore the positions and relations within different
societies, within the political environment; social economic and
cultural connections.
Lene Berg:
Lene Berg is born in Oslo in 1965, and lives and works
in Berlin and New York. She graduated from Dramatiska Institutet in
Stockholm as a film director. The jury recognizes Lene Berg for her
strength in addressing historical settings and placing them into a
contemporary context. As an artist, Berg has unique sense of the visual
and is a sophisticated storyteller. She reflects upon the contemporary
images and established opinions; between facts and clichés; between the
narrative structure and ideology.
After careful deliberations the jury has decided to share the award for 2013 between Anawana Haloba and Lene Berg and they will each receive USD 43.500. The jury states that both artists have shown considerable social, critical and artistic involvement reflecting ongoing discussions on today’s art scene. The jury members for this year’s Royal Caribbean Arts Grant are; Paulina Wilhelmsen (RCCL), artist and former winner Knut Åsdam, Tone Hansen (Director Henie Onstad Kunstsenter), Iria Candela (International Curator Tate Modern) and Marta Kuzma (Director Office for Contemporary Art – OCA). “Royal Caribbean Arts Grant is an established and recognized award and has through its ten years’ long history reflected the high level of competence and skill in the Norwegian art scene, something the jury acknowledges. The art grant is an important contribution to stimulate artistic engagement and create attention,” says Tone Hansen – the chairwoman of the jury and director of Henie Onstad Kunstsenter.
“There has evidently been a great interest in this year’s Royal Caribbean Arts Grant with 262 applicants. The jury has thoroughly discussed several strong candidates and we are proud to present this year’s finalists,” says RCCL’s representative in the jury, Paulina Wilhelmsen. For the first time - and as the only art award in Norway - Royal Caribbean Arts Grant has invited a representative from an international institution to consider and evaluate the applications. “Being a member of the jury has given me good knowledge about the Norwegian art scene and I go back to London with many impressions and names which I will include in my future work at Tate Modern,” says Iria Candela, international curator at Tate Modern.
Former winners of Royal Caribbean Arts Grant:
2011: Helene Sommer,
Signe Marie Andersen og Knut Åsdam
2009: Anna Sigmond
Gudmundsdottir, Terje Nicolaisen og Thorbjørn Sørensen
2008: Dag
Erik Elgin, Bodil Furu og Lotte Konow Lund
2007: Jesper Alvær, Else
Marie Hagen og Fin Serck-Hanssen
2006: Unn Fahlstrøm, Eline Mugaas
og Tiril Schrøder
2005: Marte Aas, Mariken Kramer og Mari Slaattelid
2004:
Kurt Johannessen, Vegar Moen og Mette Tronvoll
2003: Mikkel
McAlinden, Trine Lise Nedreaas og Thomas Pihl
Royal Caribbean International is a considerable buyer in the Norwegian and international art market. Over the years the company has acquired art, installations and decorations for more than USD 200 million. Approximately 20% of these works are made by Norwegian artists. Royal Caribbean Cruise Line is one of the major collectors of contemporary art in the Norwegian market. Adventure of the Seas - venue for this year’s award ceremony - has a total of 6,100 works of art on board focusing on glass art by international and Norwegian artists. Adventure of the Seas is one of a total of 41 ships in Royal Caribbean’s fleet and was built in Finland in 2001.
High resolution photos from the award ceremony, short video presentations of the finalists and further documentation can be downloaded from this link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s5ts140g8wekfgi/IYmRhzUwQc
