Queen Sonja Art Foundation is proud to announce the 2022 winners of the Queen Sonja Print Award (QSPA)
Queen Sonja Print Award to Yto Barrada
QSPA Lifetime Achievement Award to William Kentridge
QSPA Inspirational Award to Meerke Vekterli
Coinciding with this year’s announcement, the QSPA Exhibition Space in Bispevika presents a survey of earlier winners of the main award, as well as showcasing a selection of works by HM Queen Sonja.
The Queen Sonja Print Award is the world’s leading award for graphic art. It celebrates the art of printmaking by honoring artists, and by supporting a young, ambitious, and promising practitioner who has excelled in the field of printmaking.
The nominees reflect the breadth of contemporary printmaking internationally, ranging from traditional forms to new approaches. No printing technique or form of expression is excluded as long as a printing technique is apparent in the work. Nominees are selected by a network of highly recognized international experts. The main award is a cash prize of NOK 1 million and a stay at the Atelje Larsen studio in Helsingborg, Sweden.
There are three awards under the QSPA umbrella: The Queen Sonja Print Award , The QSPA Lifetime Achievement Award and The QSPA Inspirational Award. The awards are presented every other year by the HM Queen Sonja Art Foundation, which was established in 2011 to generate interest in and promote the development of graphic art.
List of winners of the Queen Sonja Print Award:
· 2022: Yto Barrada, Morocco/France
· 2020: Ciara Phillips, Canada/UK
· 2018: Emma Nishimura, Canada
· 2016: Tauba Auerbach, USA
· 2014: Svend-Allan Sørensen, Denmark
· 2012: Tiina Kivinen, Finland
Ciara Phillips (b. 1976, Ottawa) is an Irish-Canadian artist. She is primarily based in Glasgow, Scotland. Her education includes a BA in Fine Art from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario (1996–2000) and an MA in Fine Art from the Glasgow School of Art (2002–2004). While Phillips’s practice can be formally categorized as printmaking, her use of material ranges from screenprinting to textiles. She also uses photography and wall painting. Phillips often works collaboratively, reconceptualizing the norms of gallery spaces and involving other artists, designers, and local community groups in her practice. She draws much of her inspiration from Corita Kent (1918–1986), a pioneering artist, educator, and activist famous for her reinterpretations of advertising slogans and imagery relevant to 1960s consumer culture. Phillips is the founder of the artist collective Poster Club. Her ongoing project titled Workshop (initiated in 2010) has appeared in various iterations. Its initial exhibition at the Showroom Gallery in London secured her a nomination for the Turner Prize in 2014.
Emma Nishimura. (b. 1982, Toronto) is an artist based in Toronto whose focus is on printmaking, drawing, sound, and installation. She is a former International Print Center New York artist and was awarded a mentorship opportunity through the New Prints Artist Development Program. She has also been an Art in Print Prix de Print recipient. Nishimura was the 2018 recipient of the Queen Sonja Print Award. Her work has been exhibited at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art, James Madison University, Virginia; MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie; and the Jinling Museum of Fine Art, Nanjing, among others. Nishimura is currently the Chair of Photography, Printmaking, and Publications at the Ontario College of Art & Design.
Tauba Auerbach (b. 1981, San Francisco) lives and works in New York. Major solo shows of her work have been presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland; the Institute of Contemporary Art, London; and Bergen Kunsthall in Norway, whose exhibition subsequently traveled to venues in Sweden and Belgium. In 2018, the Public Art Fund organized Auerbach’s acclaimed project Flow Separation in New York Harbor. In 2021 Auerbach’s work was the subject of an exhibition, called ‘S v Z’, at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The artist is represented by Paula Cooper Gallery, New York, and Standard (Oslo). Her work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; and the Centre Pompidou, Paris, among others.
Svend-Allan Sørensen (b. 1975, Kjellerup, Denmark) completed his art degree at Funen Art Academy in 2002. He has since participated in a significant number of solo and group shows in Denmark, Norway, and the Faroe Islands. Solo exhibitions have been held at Queen Joséphine Gallery and the Association of Norwegian Printmakers, both in Norway; Steinprent in the Faroe Islands; and Museum Jorn in Denmark, among others. Notable group shows include exhibitions at Scandinavia House, New York; Växjö konsthall and Prince Eugen’s Waldemarsudde, both in Sweden; and at the Association of Danish Printmakers, Denmark. His work is in the collections of ARoS Aarhus Art Museum, SMK National Gallery, Museum Jorn, New Carlsberg Foundation and Vendsyssel Kunstmuseum, all in Denmark.
Tiina Kivinen (b. 1971, Kuusankoski) studied printmaking and graphic art at Kuusamo College and North Karelia College of Arts, graduating in 1994. Since receiving the 2012 QSPA, Kivinen has experimented with formats and techniques, advancing her printmaking practice and visual language. Notable solo shows have been staged at Kunstverket Galleri, Oslo; ARTag Gallery, Finland; Galerie Arktika, Germany; Dalslands Art Museum, Sweden; and La Galeria, Barcelona. She has participated in groups shows and print biennales all over Europe, as well as in China and Russia. She is represented in the National Museum and Moderna Museet, both in Sweden; The British Museum, London; Serlachius Museums, Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art and Helsinki Art Museum, all in Finland; as well as in Graphiksammlung Kunsthaus Grenchen, Switzerland.
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