• Artists of Tomorrow Award 2016, Opening 01 / 10
Artists of Tomorrow Award 2016

Artists of Tomorrow Award 2016
Qëndresë Deda, Faton Mazreku, Arbërore Sylaj and Dardan Zhegrova

Curated by Vala Osmani and Albert Heta
Architecture of the exhibtion by Vala Osmani

20 October 2016 - 20 November 2016
Opening: 20 October 2016, 20:00

Opening hours
Tuesday - Friday, 11 am - 1 pm, 3pm - 5pm

Venue: Boxing Club, Mark Isaku str. 10000 Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo

 

Stacion - Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina is pleased to announce the winners of the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2016.

The jury of the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2016, Anne Barlow (President of the Jury), Petrit Halilaj, Miran Mohar, Milica Tomić and Anna Witt, has announced the winners in the statement of the jury which was made public on October 20th 2016, at 21:30 at the Boxing Club in Prishtina.

‘The jury would first like to acknowledge all the finalists for The Artist of Tomorrow Prize, who have presented a very strong group of works in this exhibition and rather novelle positions. Each artist in the exhibition has expressed a unique vision and working practice that we believe will continue to make a vital contribution to the contemporary art scene in Kosovo and beyond.

All of them were seriously considered as the winner of the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2016.

After a long discussion, the jury had a hard time to give a final word and finally decide to award the prize to Dardan Zhegrova and Arberore Sylaj for their collaborative work for the award exhibition.

Dardan Zhegrova and Arbërore Sylaj presented a sculpture that was conceptually and formally strong, expressing complex ideas around identity formation in a succinct and powerful way and they showed the ambition to present a newly developed haptical and formally convincing work.

The jury believes that at this stage of the artist’s development, the duo will highly benefit from the context that a two month residency in New York will provide.

We were fascinated by Faton Mazreku´s sensitive and thoughtful way of observing and commenting Kosovo´s society in his paintings, having focused and singular observation of people and everyday life, and highly imaginative approach to painting.

Qendrese Deda for her multifaceted and complex approach, refusing traditional exhibiting and artistic display and to identity and the self that comes through her work in multiple media and form.’

Arbërore Sylaj was born in 1988 in Prishtina, Kosovë. 
Arbërore Lola Sylaj is part of HAVEIT collective (Alketa Sylaj, Hana Qena, Vesa Qena, Arbërore Sylaj). Haveit is a collective that works to go beyond everyday pleasure, moralistic rules and refuse to agree with the matters that are being served. The collective was established in 2011.

Dardan Zhegrova was born in 1991 in Prishtina, Kosovë.
Dardan Zhegrova’s works play with the flux between language and its translation into visual representation. In his works emotion is used as an artistic medium that potentially could act as a means to question our as¬sumptions about intimacy and expression. Mostly known for his videos the artist can be regarded as a poet in a time where physical proximity is being replaced by an ubiquitous availability through modern means of com¬munication.

The Artists of Tomorrow Award is a pivotal independent award, organized in cooperation with Residency Unlimited in New York and supported by The Trust for Mutual Understanding in New York.

The Artists of Tomorrow Award is a unique project which provides young visual artists under the age of 35 the opportunity to produce new work, be part of a tailored education process, have meetings and presentation for an international jury, have a joint exhibition with the finalists at Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina, but also to travel to the United States and experience New York’s dynamic art scene for a two month residency at Residency Unlimited, and have a solo exhibition at Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina after returning from US.
This pivotal, independent award is organized in collaboration with Residency Unlimited (RU) in New York and is supported by the Trust for Mutual Understanding in New York.

The purpose of the Artists of Tomorrow Award, organized in Kosovo by Stacion - Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina, is to offer support to young artists and to ease the continuation of their work, by repositioning them from a marginal role to a central role in society.

The Artists of Tomorrow Award is part of the awarding program for young visual artists - YVAA (Young Visual Artists Awards) - part of ten similar prizes from Central and Eastern Europe with the intention of supporting the emergence and development of contemporary art and civil society.

The organizers’ and founders’ goal was to reward young artists with an art residency in the United States, and to expose them in the world, outside their countries, and to emphasize the role of culture in the democratization of society, and the role of culture in civil society.

The award is designed to function as a transparent annual competition, awarded by independent and ever-changing juries, who do their job without nepotism and favoritism.

This foundational mission and this programming frame, meant to support contemporary art, to acknowledge and award artistic excellence, to give birth to cultural exchange and to build the capacity of independent institutions of art and of civil society, is a guide for Stacion - Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina, to organize the prize of “Artists of Tomorrow.”

In 2015 Residency Unlimited (RU) became the new host of the Young Visual Artists Awards (YVAA) program in US. In September 2015, Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina has been tasked to assume leadership of the Artist of Tomorrow Award (AOT) in Kosovo starting with the first cycle in 2016 and with building upon and carrying forward the legacy of the Award.

Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina aims to enhance the potential and influence of The Artists of Tomorrow Award in the general developments in contemporary art in the whole territory of Kosovo.

The finalists for the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2016 were selected on the merit of their artistic portfolio, prior accomplishments and exhibitions, and demonstrated potential.

Out of eighteen applicants, the jury has chosen three finalists based on the strength of their proposals and their existing body of work.

The winners of the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2016 were selected on the merit of their portfolio, exhibited artwork in the finalists’ exhibition, prior accomplishments and exhibitions, an interview with the jury and demonstrated potential.

The winners of the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2016 are awarded a two month residency in New York, USA, with the residential program for young artists “Residency Unlimited” (http://residencyunlimited.org/), during the April and May 2017, and a solo exhibition in the annual exhibition program of Stacion - Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina for 2017.

This important, independent award is organized in collaboration with Residency Unlimited (RU), in New York, and is supported by the Trust for Mutual Understanding, in New York.

The finalists’ exhibition for the prize “Artists of Tomorrow” 2016, with works of art by Qëndresë Deda, Faton Mazreku, Arbërore Sylaj and Dardan Zhegrova was open on October 20th 2016 at 20:00, at the Boxing Club in Prishtina, and will remain open until November 19th 2016.

The main sponsors for the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2016 are Trust for Mutual Understanding in New York and Raiffeisen Bank in Kosovo.

The Artists of Tomorrow Award 2016 is sponsored by Technomarket, Kosovo’s Foundation for an Open Society (KFOS), the Municipality of Prishtina, The Austrian Embassy in Prishtna, X-Print, and DZG.