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The series begins this Friday 17 February, with an introduction to Artes Mundi by Louisa Briggs, National Museum Cardiff’s Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Other speakers during the lunchtime series include Tessa Jackson, Artes Mundi’s Artistic Director and Sue Williams, the Cardiff-based shortlisted artist in this year’s competition.

A series of family workshops based on Artes Mundi will also be held at National Museum Cardiff exploring the theme of the exhibition,

Artes Mundi celebrates visual culture from across the world. The eight shortlisted artists work with ideas of the human form, human condition or humanity. The exhibition comprises large paintings, humorous drawings, compelling photographic images as well as fictional films of human drama or documentary discussion. The shortlisted artists have been selected by two international curators, Deepak Ananth, a Paris-based, Indian Art Historian and Curator of modern and contemporary art, and the Brazilian curator, critic and writer Ivo Mesquita – a leading figure in the Latin American visual art world.

Artes Mundi Prize 2 will be awarded to one of the shortlisted artists on Friday 31 March 2006. The 2004 Artes Mundi Prize was awarded to the Chinese artist Xu Bing. This year’s exhibition runs until 7 May 2006.

National Museum Cardiff is one of Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Wales’s seven national museums across Wales. The others are St Fagans: National History Museum, National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon, Big Pit: National Coal Museum, Blaenafon, National Wool Museum, Dre-fach Felindre, National Slate Museum, Llanberis and the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales is the new name for the National Museums & Galleries of Wales.

Entry to all Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Wales sites is free, thanks to the support of the Welsh Assembly Government.

Notes to Editors

1. For more details, please contact Julie Richards, PR and Communications Manager (Artes Mundi), National Museum Cardiff, 07876 476695; julie.richards@museumwales.ac.uk
2. Lunchtime talks start at 1.05 pm. Places are limited and people should book on arrival at the Information Desk. For a full list of lunchtime talks, see

The short-listed artists:

Eija-Liisa Ahtila – was born and works in Helsinki, Finland. Ahtila describes her work as ‘human dramas’ taken from her own observations and experiences through the medium of film and video.

Thomas Demand – was born in Munich and now lives and works in Berlin. Demand’s work combines conceptualism and photography, using a process of construction, representation and repetition. He meticulously re-creates life-sized models of exteriors or interiors, photographing the construction before destroying it.

Mauricio Dias & Walter Riedweg – the Brazilian artist Mauricio Dias and Swiss artist Walter Riedweg have worked together since 1993. Their research and collaborations, most often presented in the form of video installations, explore the lives of groups of people who live on the borders of mainstream cultures such as immigrants and prostitutes or literally on a border, such as border police.

Leandro Erlich – was born and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His large scale sculptures and installations create a world of trickery and illusion; doors cannot be opened, peepholes reveal the unexpected and mirrors that do not reflect. Erlich challenges the viewer’s habitual idea of reality by creating an unexpected experience from a familiar environment. He recently exhibited work at the 51st La Biennale Venezia.

Subodh Gupta – was born in Khagaul, India and now lives and works in New Delhi. Subodh Gupta works in a wide range of mediums from sculpture and painting to installation, photography, video and performance. He elevates the status of found objects from everyday items of rural India to artworks – cow dung, milk buckets, kitchen utensils, scooters, guns and gulal powder. He recently exhibited work at the 51st La Biennale Venezia.

Sue Williams – was born in Cornwall and now lives and works in Wales. Her wok is embodied in her passionate response to the human condition; a pre-occupation with the fantasies of feminism, sexuality and gender and the notion of desire – both sexual and cerebral.

Wu Chi-Tsung – was born in Taipei, Taiwan where he still works and lives. Awarded the Taipei Arts Award in 2003, Wu’s recent works explore the notion of “image” through various media such as video, photography and mechanical installation.

The members of the second Artes Mundi Prize judging panel are:

Paolo Colombo – Curator of MAXXI Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy.

Thelma Golden – Director and Chief Curator, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York.

Cai Guo-Qiang – Artist who lives and works in New York, USA.

Gerardo Mosquera – Independent curator and art critic, based in Havana, Cuba.

Jenni Spencer-Davies – Curator, Glynn Vivian Gallery, Swansea, Wales.