“Three prizes are NOT enough at all!”
That's what Nis Rømer, chairman of the Visual Artists' Association (BKF), said at the beginning when he welcomed this year's BKF award party in Carlsberg Akademi's Pompejisal on Friday 26 October. And then he unveiled the names of the three winners BKF prize Artist-run Exhibition Places of the Year 2018:
Hospital Prison University Archive, read the jury's motivation here…
SixtyEight Art Institute, read the jury's motivation here...
Kunsthal next door / du.al., read the jury's motivation here...
High artistic level
This year, the jury, which consisted of visual artists Anna Margrethe Pedersen, Uffe Isolotto and Nis Rømer, had made a shortlist to bring more awareness to how much good there is in the artist-run scene:
"The exhibition venues on the shortlist, which were not awarded this year, have a monumentally high level, and in my view surpass most established art institutions in our country in terms of artistic ambition, innovative thinking and social relevance. And several of the places that are not shortlisted this year have many of the same qualities," said Nis Rømer to the audience who had gathered to celebrate the artist-run stage in the beautiful winter garden of brewer JC Jacobsen's private villa in the Carlberg area.
It is a suitable setting for a celebration of art and artists, pointed out Nis Rømer:
"The house here was for a number of years the honorary residence of Niels Bohr, who has walked around with his pipe here, where we stand now, in what was once a greenhouse filled with rare plants. He called it 'a hiding place for the thoughts'. We think it's a good place to celebrate and shine a spotlight on the artist-run places, which in themselves are incubators, where a lot of new things emerge and are cultivated.”
“It is a field that is as fleeting and changeable as nature itself. Where artists work idealistically to, together with their colleagues, create art for everyone. There, where you as an audience get some of the best experiences and discover artists you will follow for many years to come.”
In total was 50 artist-run places this year nominated to the price of the audience, colleagues and business partners.
Thank you to everyone who came to BKF's awards party to celebrate the artist-driven scene, and thank you to all the artists who create the strong, self-organized art life we have here at home!
The award ceremony took place in the Pompeji Hall, the beautiful winter garden of brewer JC Jacobsen's private villa in the Carlsberg area.
The sculptor Anders Bonnesen has created the winning statuette as a translation of 'Artist Run Space' into form.
Duo Demona v. artists Nour Fog and Maj Kærsig put on a sound performance at the award party.