Carnegie Art Award, one of the largest art prizes in the world, is today handed out by Arja Saijonmaa in a ceremony at Stenersenmuseet in Oslo. Three winners and one scholarship recipient share a total of SEK 2, 1 millon. Concurrently, an exhibition featuring 17 of the most prominent Nordic artists right now is opened.
Today the Finnish artist Heikki Marila receives the first prize in Carnegie Art Award 2012. The Swedish artist Ann Edholm and Danish Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen receive second and third prize respectively and Swedish Klara Lidén receives the scholarship to a younger artist. The Carnegie Art Award, which is one of the largest art prizes in the world, is handed out by singer, actor, writer and Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR Arja Saijonmaa in a ceremony at Stenersenmuseet in Oslo.
In connection with the prize ceremony Arja Saijonmaa will inaugurate the exhibition that for the first time shows 53 art works by the 17 Nordic artists selected by the Carnegie Art Award jury. The jury comprises a handful of the most prominent connoisseurs of contemporary art in the Nordic such as Tuula Arkio, Cultural Counsellor, Honorary PhD in Visual Arts (Museum Director Emerita), Helsinki and Isabel Carlos, Director, CAM – Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon.
The selected participants and their works of art represent a cross section of the sentiment in the Nordic art scene right now. All works of art are made during the last two years and offer a comprehensive presentation in terms of expression and material.
The exhibition will be showing at Stenersenmuseet until January 29th 2012. Subsequently the exhibition tours the Nordic capitals; Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen for one year.