Artes Mundi 3 Exhibition and Prize
15 March – 8 June 2008
National Museum Cardiff, Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales
March 2008
Artes Mundi presents Artes Mundi 3, the third major biennial exhibition of international contemporary art exploring different perspectives on life, art and humanity. Featuring large-scale video, photography, textiles and paintings the exhibition presents new and recent work by the nine artists shortlisted for the third Artes Mundi Prize (worth £40,000).
“The nine artists were selected following a global search in 2007 and represent some of the most outstanding artistic talents emerging from around the world” says Tessa Jackson, Artistic Director of Artes Mundi 3. The artists are 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).
In this exhibition each artist tells a different story, heightening our senses and prompting us to question how we see ourselves. Works featured include:
Come give us a speech (2007/8), a new large 6-panelled painting, specially created for Artes Mundi 3 by Indian artist N.S. Harsha. Harsha paints in the Indian miniature tradition but on a very large scale. His works are full of wit and playfulness but the closer you look, the more disoriented you become at what he presents.
A major film installation by Susan Norrie from Australia, first seen at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007. Called Havoc (2007) it observes the devastation an unstoppable flow of boiling mud caused to a community in East Java, leaving thousands homeless.
More than Us (2007), a film installation by Scottish artists Dalziel + Scullion that explores the landscape from a perspective other than human, in this case, the slender Scotch burnet moth. It is a story of warning, warmth and colour.
Brick Sellers of Kabul (2006), a film depicting a line of boys waiting to redeem bricks collected from the rubble of ruined buildings destroyed by the Taliban. The work, by Afghan artist Lida Abdul, speaks of violence and devastation but also survival and rebuilding.
The exhibition also includes new works by Vasco Araújo and Abdoulaye Konaté.
The Artes Mundi 3 prize will be awarded on 24 April 2008. A fully illustrated publication with essays by international authors accompanies the exhibition.
For further press information please contact Annie Bacon, Artes Mundi
E: anniebacon@artesmundi.org
T: 07974 755 164 / 02920 555 300 www.artesmundi.org
Notes to Editors
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 our programme culminates in the major Artes Mundi Exhibition in Cardiff, Wales and the awarding of the £40,000 Artes Mundi Prize. Our 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 every two years in Cardiff. It is organised by Artes Mundi 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. A separate independent panel of judges awards the Artes Mundi Prize to one of the exhibiting artists. 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.
The Artes Mundi 3 Selectors are Isabel Carlos and Bisi Silva. Isabel Carlos is a freelance curator based in Lisbon. She was Artistic Director of the 2004 Sydney Biennale and curated the Portuguese Pavilion at the 2005 Venice Biennale. Bisi Silva is an international curator and the founder and director of the Centre for Contemporary Art in Lagos. She was one of the curators responsible for the artistic content of the Dakar Biennale in 2006.
The Artes Mundi 3 Judges are Xu Bing, artist and the new vice president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing; Jack Persekian, curator, writer and Director of the Middle East’s prestigious Sharjah Biennale in 2007; Tuula Arkio, a freelance curator and writer and the former General Director of the National Art Galleries, Helsinki; and David Alston, Arts Director of Arts Council Wales and a curator. He is a former Keeper of Art at the National Museum and Galleries of Wales in Cardiff.
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, the Cardiff Council, Arts Council of Wales, BBC Wales and Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum of 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) 2920 555 300
Email anniebacon@artesmundi.org Visit www.artesmundi.org