Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize

The Prize

The Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize is an award that is aimed at assisting young and emerging visual artists to launch their careers. The Award provides the nominated artist with a twelve-week studio residency in Johannesburg and solo exhibition at the Everard Read Gallery Johannesburg.

In 2023 the Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize is inviting all artists who work with 3 Dimensional mediums, including sculpture, installation, performance and other 3D forms of art. BNAP will select a group fi nalists to participate in a group exhibition at The Melrose Gallery, from which an overall winner will be chosen.

Award fi nalists will be expected to create 1 new artwork which aligns with their project proposals to present alongside 2 older works during the group show at The Melrose Gallery.

The winning artist is expected to create a new body of work to be exhibited as a solo exhibition at Everard Read/CIRCA Gallery Johannesburg.

This programme will begin on Thursday the 1 st of June 2023 and run until Thursday the 31st of August 2023. The solo exhibition will take place during the month of October 2023 at the Everard Read Gallery Johannesburg, please note that this date may change depending on the status of the COVID 19 pandemic.

The artist is expected to:

Attend bi-weekly meetings with the administrators of the Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize.

Produce new and exciting works for a solo exhibition at the Everard Read gallery.

Complete a written report on completion of the residency.

Arrive on time and stay for the full period (12 weeks).

Participate in workshops that will be coordinated for the residency

What will a successful applicant receive?

A live-in studio space.

A small materials budget for art production while in residence.

A monthly stipend.

Bi-weekly workshops.

A funded solo exhibition at Everard Read Gallery Johannesburg.

Applicants should not expect to profit financially or expect to be able to fully sustain themselves financially from or during the residency, as this is a cultural development programme. To qualify for the residency: the artist must be under the age of 35, not represented by a gallery and not have had a solo exhibition. For this year’s residency, The Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize will only accept artists working with THREE DIMENSIONAL MEDIUMS.

DEADLINE FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS IS THE 31 March 2023

What must Applicants submit?

A SINGLE PDF document including the following information:

A detailed Project outline indicating what you will be working on towards and during the residency.
A detailed timeline of how you will plan to execute the project.
A list of professional artists you would like to be mentored by during your residency.
Artist statement
Biography
Motivation letter (not more that 500 words)
A representative portfolio of artworks produced in the past 12 months, 1 artwork from the portfolio must be available for an exhibition.
Substantial Curriculum Vitae with full names, references, addresses and contact numbers.
A certified copy of your ID

#NB# Please make sure to send all the required documents. Insufficient documentation on your application will result in immediate disqualification.

How are the applications assessed?

Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize Selection Committee

TO APPLY:

Email required documentation to Info@BlessingNgobeni.com and CC: olwethudevos@gmail.com