The Vincent Award 2016 to be suspended

The international jury and organisers of The Vincent Award hereby announce that The Vincent Award 2016 is to be suspended. This decision has been taken after careful consideration of the facts surrounding the nomination and the withdrawal of two candidates.

In January 2016 the organisers of The Vincent Award announced that two of the nominated artists were withdrawing from The Vincent Award 2016. Read more about their withdrawal here. For one of the artists, this decision had been prompted by the dispute between the artist Danh Vo and collector Bert Kreuk, whose collection was exhibited at Gemeentemuseum Den Haag in 2013. The news of the withdrawals precipitated a lot of discussion about this particular dispute, which the museum merely witnessed; it was never a party to the dispute.

The jury believes that the recent discussion has overshadowed the intentions of the award and could eventually comprise the nominated artists. After close consultations with the Broere Charitable Foundation, the jury has decided to cancel The Vincent Award 2016.

A new edition of The Vincent Award will be organised in 2018

The international jury:

Sabine Folie (independent curator, Vienna)

Hubertus Gaßner (director of Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany)

Julia Peyton-Jones (director of Serpentine Galleries, London, UK)

Jaroslaw Suchan (director of Muzeum Sztuki, Łódź, Poland)

Benno Tempel (chair, director of Gemeentemuseum Den Haag)

www.thevincentaward.com/en
 

The Vincent van Gogh Biennial Award for Contemporary Art in Europe – known for short as The Vincent Award – is one of Europe’s leading contemporary art prizes. It is awarded to a mid-career artist working or living in Europe who has had considerable influence on the development of international art. The cash prize associated with the award – made available by the Broere Charitable Foundation, which established The Vincent Award – is intended to give the recipient complete freedom to work on their artistic development. The award is also intended to foster communication in a free, united and peaceful Europe.

For more information, please contact Anne de Haij, Public Affairs Manager, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag: adehaij@gemeentemuseum.nl.