Russian Art Focus launches a new award in the field of journalism on Russian contemporary art
The digital magazine Russian Art Focus launches an open call for a new award in the field of journalism on Russian contemporary art called the Russian Art Focus Prize.
Russian Art Focus, a monthly art magazine was established in 2018 by the publisher of the Art Newspaper Inna Bazhenova and the founder of the Aksenov Family Foundation, Dmitry Aksenov. The founders of the Russian Art Focus Prize see its mission to increase interest in Russian contemporary art among professionals and the general public around the world. The aim of the Prize is to identify and encourage authors, journalists, publicists, bloggers and researchers who write in English and whose interest is focused on the work of Russian artists, as well as on the activities of public and private cultural institutions, museums, foundations and self-organised artistic communities in Russia and beyond. The Prize has a total prize fund of 6,000 (six thousand) Euros.
Journalists play a vital role in encouraging support and nurture for the arts sector. The Aksenov Family Foundation is delighted to announce the Russian Art Focus Prize this year. We hope that it will contribute greatly to wider coverage and understanding of contemporary Russian art across the globe.
The Prize will be awarded every year and includes two nominations:
‣ Publication on contemporary Russian art, which considers published texts in English in traditional print media, as well as detailed articles of at least 3,000 characters (500 words) in blogs and social networks.
‣ Research paper on contemporary Russian art, which covers articles in catalogues, conference reports, research publications in English, with a total of no more than 10,000 characters (up to 1,700 words).
Winners in each category will receive a prize of 3,000 Euros and an invitation to the Russian Art Focus Prize award ceremony event at viennacontemporary art fair in Vienna in September (the prize organizers will cover all travel and accommodation costs).
Authors can submit their texts on the Prize website www.rafprize.com from April 1st to July 1st 2021. Texts submitted for the Prize must cover actual events or topics that took place between 2015 and 2021 or which are relevant for this recent period of time. Texts can have been published in any online or printed media outlet, or in a personal blog.
The Editorial Board of Russian Art Focus headed by editor-in-chief Jo Vickery will make a short list of 5 nominees in each nomination for the following vote of the Jury. Two laureates will be announced by July 30th 2021.
The experience of holding The Art Newspaper Russia Award over many years shows that awards are important both for the contestants themselves and for the entire community and art scene. We hope that the Russian Art Focus Prize will make contemporary Russian art a subject of professional analysis and a topic for first-class journalism and academic research.
The Prize Jury is composed of members of Russian Art Focus Advisory Board and invited experts:
Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum
Zelfira Tregulova, Director of the State Tretyakov Gallery
Nicholas V. Iljine, Advisor to the Director of the State Hermitage Museum
Anna Somers Cocks, Founder and Ambassador, The Art Newspaper
Hans Ulrich Obrist, Director of Serpentine Galleries
Jean-Hubert Martin, Art historian and curator
Ekaterina Chuchalina, Program Director of V-A-C Foundation
Richard Wallis, Russian Art Focus Editor-in-Chief 2018-2021
