Kiwanga to Present Major New Commission at Frieze New York,
May 4-6 2018
Recently Frieze announces Kapwani Kiwanga as the winner of the Frieze Artist Award, a major opportunity for an emerging artist launching at Frieze New York 2018. The Paris-based artist will realize an open-air installation, exploring freedom of movement and architectures of exclusion, in Randall’s Island Park from May 4–6 2018. Curated by Adrienne Edwards (Performa, New York/Walker Art Center, Minneapolis), the Frieze Artist Award forms part of the fair’s non-profit program and is supported by the Luma
Foundation.
Kiwanga’s proposal was selected from an international open call, resulting in hundreds of applications from more than 50 countries. The 2018 Frieze
Artist Award jury included Liam Gillick (artist), Eungie Joo (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art), Pablo León de la Barra (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York) and Edwards, chaired by Loring Randolph (Artistic Director, Frieze). Kiwanga receives a budget of up to 30,000 USD and will realize her artwork at Frieze New York.
Edwards said: “I’m thrilled to be launching the Artist Award at Frieze New York with such a strong, thought-provoking artist. Kapwani’s rigorous
research and imaginative approach confront audiences with the raw materials and elemental structures of power. I’m looking forward to experiencing Kapwani’s ambitious artwork in Randall’s Island Park, which will ask poignant questions about our built environment and human histories of control.”
Kiwanga has explored subjects as far reaching as space travel, anti-colonial struggles, geology and disciplinary architectures, often rooted in her training in anthropology. Part documentary, part fiction, Kiwanga’s works span installation, sound, video and performance, unsettle established narratives and create spaces in which marginalized discourse can flourish.
Kiwanga’s winning commission, Shady (working title), will be a large-scale sculptural work made for the open air and installed outside the entrance to Frieze New York. Created with industrial metal and agricultural fabric and punctuated by holes and passageways, the imposing structure will both invite and obstruct movement. The artist’s political choice of Shade Cloth, used in large-scale farming on the African continent and beyond, will speak to the colonial appropriation of land from indigenous communities and the manipulation of the natural environment for economic gain. In these ways, the artist will build on her practice shining new light on the psychological power of design and histories of exclusion.
Kapwani Kiwanga (b. 1978, Hamilton, Canada) lives and works in Paris, France. Kiwanga studied Anthropology and Comparative Religion at McGill University in Montreal before taking part in the program La Seine at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux- Arts de Paris. Kiwanga’s work is currently on show as part of “Stories for Almost Everyone” at the Hammer Museum (Los Angeles, 2018) and she has been selected for the 2018 edition of Glasgow International.
About the Frieze Artist Award, supported by the Luma Foundation
The launch of the Artist Award in New York follows an established program of Artist Award commissions at Frieze London. The 2017 Frieze Artist Award winner (London) was Kiluanji Kia Henda, whose two-part installation took the cult of Marxism-Leninism in Angola as its starting point. Previous award winners in London include Yuri Pattison (2016), Rachel Rose (2015) and Mélanie Matranga (2014). The Frieze Artist Award sits within a rich history of artist awards presented at Frieze Art Fairs, including the Emdash Award (2011–13) and the Cartier Award (2006–10). Explore all projects here.
Frieze New York 2018 takes place from May 4-6 in Randall’s Island Park and is supported by global lead partner Deutsche Bank for the seventh consecutive year.
For further information please visit frieze.com
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Notes to Editors:
Frieze is the world’s leading platform for modern and contemporary art for
scholars, connoisseurs, collectors and the general public alike. Frieze comprises
three magazines—frieze, Frieze Masters Magazine and Frieze Week—and three international art fairs—Frieze London, Frieze Masters and Frieze New York. Additionally, Frieze organizes a programme of special courses and lectures in London through Frieze Academy.
Frieze was founded in 1991 by Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp, with the
launch of frieze magazine, the leading international magazine of contemporary art and culture. In 2003, Sharp and Slotover launched Frieze London art
fair, which takes place each October in The Regent’s Park, London. In 2012,
they launched Frieze New York, which occurs each May in Randall’s Island
Park, and Frieze Masters, which coincides with Frieze London in October
and is dedicated to art from ancient to modern. Frieze Fairs are sponsored by
global lead partner Deutsche Bank.
Kapwani Kiwanga (b. 1978, Hamilton, Canada) lives and works in Paris, France. Kiwanga studied Anthropology and Comparative Religion at McGill University in Montreal before taking part in the program La Seine at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux- Arts de Paris. Kiwanga’s work is currently on show as part of “Stories for Almost Everyone” at the Hammer Museum (Los Angeles, 2018) and she has been selected for the 2018 edition of the Glasgow International (2018). Other exhibitions include solo shows at Museé d’art de Joliette (2018), Esker Foundation Contemporary Art Gallery, Calgary (2018), The Power Plant, Toronto (2017) and South London Gallery (2015); and group exhibitions at Tate Liverpool (2017) and Portikus, Frankfurt (2017), among others. Kiwanga’s performances have been presented at Documenta 14, Athens (2017), Momentum 9, Oslo (2017); FRAC, Champagne-Ardenne (2015), Tate Modern, London (2014) and Centre Pompidou, Paris (2014), among others.
Adrienne Edwards is Curator at Performa (New York), Curator at Large at the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), and also a PhD candidate in performance studies at New York University where she is a Corrigan Doctoral Fellow. Her scholarly and curatorial work focuses on artists of the African Diaspora and the Global South. She organized the ‘Blackness in Abstraction’ exhibition and catalogue, presented at Pace Gallery. For Performa, Edwards has realized new cross-boundary work with a wide range of artists, including Performa Commissions by Edgar Arceneaux, Yto Barrada, Juliana Huxtable, Rashid Johnson, Laura Lima, Julie Mehretu, Jason Moran, Wangechi Mutu, and Tracey Rose in addition to projects and productions by Jonathas de Andrade, Chimurenga, Teju Cole, Kwani Trust, Benjamin Patterson, Pope.L, Ralph Lemon, Senga Nengudi, Lorraine O’Grady, Adam Pendleton, Dave McKenzie, Yvonne Rainer, Will Rawls, and Carrie Mae Weems. Edwards also works within the Walker’s Visual Arts department developing and implementing artist projects and exhibitions, and expanding interdisciplinary scholarship and research, while making key contributions to the Walker’s acquisitions planning. She is currently organizing Jason Moran’s first-ever monograph and museum show, on view at the Walker, April 26–August 19, 2018. Edwards is a contributor to numerous exhibition catalogues and art publications, including Aperture, Art in America, Parkett, and Spike Art Quarterly.
Loring Randolph is Frieze’s Artistic Director for the Americas. Previously, she was partner at the New York-based gallery Casey Kaplan. Randolph holds a masters in artsbusiness from Sotheby’s Institute in London where she wrote her thesis on the contemporary art market in London, and a BFA in graphic design and BA in art history from the University of Michigan.
Luma Foundation: In 2004, Maja Hoffmann created the Luma
Foundation to support the activities of artists, independent pioneers and
organizations working in the visual arts, photography, publishing, documentary filmmaking, and other media. The Luma Foundation produces, supports, and enables challenging art projects committed to an expansive understanding of environmental issues, human rights, education and culture.
In 2014, Luma started the regeneration of the Parc des Ateliers, an expansive former industrial site located in Arles, France. Situated adjacent to the city’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, the Parc des Ateliers serves as the major programmatic and cultural centre for the Luma Foundation’s diverse activities. The site includes a resource centre designed by architect Frank Gehry (to open in 2019); various industrial buildings rehabilitated by Selldorf Architects; and a public park designed by landscape architect Bas Smets. Hoffmann works closely with the Luma Arles Core Group (Tom Eccles, Liam Gillick, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Philippe Parreno, and Beatrix Ruf) on a program of exhibitions and multidisciplinary projects presented each year in the site’s newly rehabilitated venues of the Grande Halle, Les Forges, and the Mécanique Générale. More info: www.luma-arles.org.
Deutsche Bank: Frieze New York is sponsored by global lead partner Deutsche Bank for the seventh consecutive year, continuing a shared
commitment to discovery and artistic excellence. Deutsche Bank has been
supporting the work of cutting edge, international artists and their galleries for more than 35 years and has distinguished itself as a global leader in corporate art programs. For further information please visit art.db.com and db-artmag.com.
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