Press Releases

Press Release

24 April 2008    

N S Harsha wins the third £40,000 Artes Mundi Prize

The prestigious Artes Mundi Prize has been awarded to IndianartistN S Harsha, it was announced this evening at National Museum Cardiff. The £40,000 prize was awarded to Harsha by Jack Persekian, Chairman of the Judging Panel, and Chinese artist Xu Bing, also a judge and the winner of the first Artes Mundi Prize in 2004.

N S Harsha is a skilled story teller, combining details of everyday life in his native India with world events and images we have seen on the news.He has turned the Indian tradition of miniature painting into a form that enables him to mix the specific with the universal. He uses it to draw our attention to the whimsical and the absurd as much as the tragic and to the internationally significant. He could be described as an artist/philosopher and, without judgement, enables us to reflect on the world around us.

“The panel of judges acknowledged the work of all the artists and found coming to a decision extremely challenging” said Jack Persekian.“We based our decision on the artists’ work over the last 5-8 years and were particularly interested in work that added to our understanding of humanity and the human condition.”

In awarding the prize to N S Harsha, the panel were impressed by the scope of his work and its range and variety of approach, from painting and installation to community activities. Basing his work on his locality, cultural traditions and the shifting world of today, Harsha engages and connects with an ever-broadening public. The panel stressed the strength of the exhibition at National Museum Cardiff and admired the outstanding presentations by each of the shortlisted artists.

The Prize Awarding ceremony, sponsored by St David's 2, was attended by nearly 200 people from the international arts and business communities.  Rhodri Glyn Thomas, Wales’s Minister for Heritage, said "I am delighted to congratulate Indian artist N S Harsha on receiving this prestigious prize, it is a great achievement. Artes Mundi is an important initiative that brings together artists from across the world to engage in cultural debate and its theme of humanity allows it to capture the public imagination. The public response to the exhibition here in our national museum, the artistic activity in communities across Wales and its work with schools and colleges is testament to that and it has become one of the highlights in Wales's cultural calendar." Sir Robert Finch, Chairman of Liberty International, also congratulated the winning artist and Artes Mundi.“This exciting exhibition and prize adds a powerful vibrancy to Cardiff and as a sponsor, St David’s 2 is delighted to be part of this cultural development in the city.”

Awarded every two years, the £40,000 Artes Mundi Prize is the largest international art prize in the UK and one of the largest art prizes in the world. It recognises outstanding emerging artists from around the world who discuss the human condition. This is the third Prize. Xu Bing won the first Artes Mundi Prize in 2004 and Eija-Liisa Ahtila was awarded the second Prize in 2006.

For further press information please contact Annie Bacon, Artes Mundi

E-mail: anniebacon@artesmundi.org Tel. 07974 755 164 / 02920 555 300 www.artesmundi.org or Sian James, Corporate Communications Officer, Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales

E-mail: sian.james@museumwales.ac.uk Tel. 07812 801356 / (029) 20573175

Artes Mundi 3 Exhibition and Prize

15 March-8 June 2008

National Museum Cardiff

Admission free

Open Tuesday to Sunday and Bank Holidays 10am-5pm

Tel: +44 (0)29 20397951

www.artesmundi.org    www.museumwales.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

The Artes Mundi Prize is awarded every two years to an emerging international artist for outstanding work from the last 5-8 years that discusses the human condition in a profound way. The artist can come from anywhere in the world. 

The shortlisted artists were: Lida Abdul (Afghanistan), Vasco Araújo (Portugal), Mircea Cantor (Romania), Dalziel + Scullion (Scotland), N S Harsha (India), Abdoulaye Konaté (Mali), Susan Norrie (Australia) and Rosângela Rennó (Brazil). 

The members of the Artes Mundi 3 Prize Jury were: the Chinese artist Xu Bing, winner of the first Artes Mundi Prize in 2004 and now vice president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing; Jack Persekian, Director of the Sharjah Biennale; Tuula Arkio, freelance curator, writer and former General Director of the National Art Galleries, Helsinki; and David Alston, curator and Arts Director for the Arts Council of Wales.

The Artes Mundi 3 Selectors were: Isabel Carlos, a freelance curator based in Lisbon and Bisi Silva, Director of the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos and a freelance curator.

Previous Artes Mundi Prize Winners: 2004  Xu Bing; 2006 Eija-Liisa Ahtila.

Artes Mundi is an international contemporary visual arts initiative, committed to recognising exciting, emerging artists from around the world whose work comments on the human condition and humanity from different cultural perspectives. Every two years its programme culminates in the major Artes Mundi Exhibition in Cardiff, Wales, and the awarding of the £40,000 Artes Mundi Prize. Its programme also includes visiting artist presentations, activity with schools and communities, a conference and a purchasing programme for the national collections of Wales.

The Artes Mundi Exhibition features a body of work by each of the shortlisted artists and is presented in association with Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. The shortlist is arrived at after an international nomination process and further global research by two independent selectors.The Derek Williams Trust provides funding in order that works by some of the shortlisted artists can be purchased for the national collections of Wales.

Artes Mundi was founded by William Wilkins CBE (Chairman) and Tessa Jackson (Chief Executive/Artistic Director) in 2002. It was established with the support of the Welsh Assembly Government, Cardiff Council, Arts Council of Wales, BBC Wales and Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, all of whom remain as partners.

Sponsors of Artes Mundi 3 include the St David’s 2 development as principal sponsor, Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, sponsor of the global selection process and Gerald Eve, sponsor of the shortlist announcement events. Other major supporters include Arts & Business, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Foyle Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and the Colwinston Charitable Trust.

For further information and images contact

Annie Bacon or Nat Slow, Artes Mundi, Room A2.10, UWIC Llandaff Campus, Western Avenue, Cardiff CF5 2YB.  Tel: +44 (0) 29 20555300

Email anniebacon@artesmundi.org  Visit www.artesmundi.org