09/06/2017
This year, for the second time an international competition will be held to identify the best young artist in the Baltics. This year’s Bachelor’s and Master’s programme graduates from the art academies of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in painting, visual communication, sculpture, graphic art and other realms of fine arts are invited to apply to be considered for the Baltic Young Artist Award, by uploading their graduation work to the platform: www.balticyoungartistaward.org by 16 June!
The Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation will award a post-tax prize of EUR 2,000 to the winner chosen by an international jury.
The winner of the award voted by the general public will receive a EUR 500 consolation prize. In turn, the co-founder of the Baltic Young Artist Award, the contemporary art platform NOAR will provide artists recommended by the jury with the opportunity to present their works online, thus making it possible for them to be discovered by art collectors.
“In its first year, the Baltic Young Artist Award attracted widespread interest among young artists and art lovers, which is confirmed by the number of applications received, the many votes received from countries all over the world, as well as the large number of people who took the opportunity to view the winner’s work in person. We hope that we will also receive artistically distinguished and memorable entries this year,” says the Chairman of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation Romans Surnačovs.
At the same time, Romans Surnačovs stresses that, “Work on the collection of the future Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art has been ongoing for over a decade. Moreover, now we know what the future Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art building will look like. Thus, we must continue working to make this vision come true. The works of young Baltic artists will be among the artworks that eventually comprise the contents of the museum. In order to support young professionals in their attempts to consolidate their position within the art world, during the immensely challenging period in the years immediately after graduation, they need financial support, opportunities to exhibit their works, and access to both art events and important players within the industry in the form of collectors and curators.”
The Baltic Young Artist Award was established a year ago, initiating a new annual tradition within the Baltic cultural space. The Baltic Young Artist Award was established to introduce the professional art scene and the general public to the younger generation of artists, and to support their creative efforts to begin their professional activity successfully.
The prize was established by the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation (LMCAF), which was founded by the ABLV Charitable Foundation and the Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation, and the contemporary art platform NOAR, in collaboration with the art academies of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
In 2016, 53 young artists, who were graduates of Baltic art academies, competed to win the award. The winner of the first Baltic Young Artist Award was the Estonian artist Juhan Soomets who received the award for his installation The Artists´ Room. Along with the cash prize, Juhan Soomets won the opportunity to exhibit his work at the Latvian National Museum of Art. In turn, the public vote was convincingly won by Nojus Petrauskas with his work of art, Altar. Chapter I. Almost 2,500 art lovers from the Baltic States, United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, France, Germany, Canada, USA, Ukraine, Russia and other countries took part in the online vote.
