The endowment fund launches the new edition of the ellipse Prize, dedicated to African artists living in Benin and to Beninese artists living on the African continent.
Courtesy of ellipse art projects
Initiated in 2021, the ellipse Prize is an itinerant visual art competition that highlights emerging artists from a different territory each year. After Togo in 2023, the fourth edition of the Prize is dedicated to Benin’s flourishing artistic scene.
Intended to promote intercultural exchanges and artists’ mobility, the ellipse Prize lets the winner benefit from a production grant and an original exhibition in France during the AKAA – Also Known As Africa, held from October 18 to 20, 2024, in Paris. Furthermore, a 360-degree communication campaign and a professional accompaniment are allowed.
Related to a theme specific to each edition (« Contemporary Tradition » for this 2024 edition), the ellipse Prize is an itinerant visual art competition dedicated to the artistic creation from a different country each year. This contest aims to disseminate the messages conveyed by artists from all horizons and to encourage intercultural exchanges, making creativity a means of strengthening social bonds. Otherwise, the ellipse Prize wishes to promote emerging artists’ mobility and initiate professional opportunities beyond borders.
After Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Togo, the ellipse Prize continues to follow the west coast of the African continent, earmarking its fourth edition to Benin. In 2024, the endowment fund wishes to highlight a new emerging artistic scene, by addressing the competition to artists resident in Benin, including all Beninese artists from the continent. With its dynamic cultural policy, Benin is committed to artistic creation, with four new museums in the pipeline and its first participation in the Venice Biennale in 2024.
Call for applications: from March 18 to May 10 2024
Announcement of the finalists: mid-May 2024
Announcement of the winner: June 2024
Exhibition in Paris: from October 18 to 20 2024
The ellipse Prize is accompanied by an independent jury composed of contemporary art professionals, notably linked to the Beninese scene, to reward a winner and four finalists.
The Jury:
- Armelle Dakouo, Artistic director of AKAA and independent curator
- Dominique Zinkpè, Beninese visual artist and President of the Centre, Abomey-Calavi
- Céline Coyac Atindehou, Director of the Maison Rouge hotel
- Lylly Houngnihin, Executive director of Laboratorio Arts Contemporains
To consolidate its commitment, ellipse art projects join forces with partners to increase their capacity for action with the artistic scene featured each year.
The partners of the fourth edition are:
- AKAA, ALSO KNOWN AS AFRICA, Paris
- Laboratorio Arts Contemporains, Cotonou
- French Institute of Benin, Cotonou
- Maison Rouge hotel, Cotonou
For more information on the Prize, please visit ellipse art projects.
