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ACCESS ART X PRIZE 2023 UPDATES
The Access ART X Prize, a prestigious platform for recognising and nurturing emerging artistic talent from Africa and its diaspora, announced the distinguished winners of its 2023 edition. After careful deliberation, Julius Agbaje from Nigeria and Asmaa Jama representing the Africa/Diaspora category were selected as the standout talents from an exceptional pool of finalists.
Due to personal reasons, Asmaa Jamahas has regrettably had to withdraw from the Prize this year.
We are thus pleased to announce that Shabu Mwangi (Kenya), the artist recognized in our 2023 Honorable Mentions, will now assume the position of the Access ART X Prize Africa/Diaspora Winner for 2023. He will begin his residency at GAS Foundation in Lagos in September.
Their selection is a testament to their artistic prowess, unique vision, and potential for global impact.
The Nigerian Winner Will Receive:
- Residency at Gasworks, London
- Exhibition at ART X Lagos 2024
- Support in the form of a $10,000 grant
- An invaluable opportunity for cultural exchange
The African/Diasporan Winner Will Receive:
- Residency at Yinka Shonibare’s GAS Foundation, Lagos
- Exhibition at ART X Lagos 2024
- Support in the form of a $10,000 grant
- An invaluable opportunity for cultural exchange
JULIUS AGBAJE
THE 2023 NIGERIA WINNER
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Julius Agbaje, a Nigerian Artist (b. 1992) born in Agege, Lagos to a Pastor and a teacher, initially pursued Computer Science at the Polytechnic but transitioned to art. After graduating from Yaba College of Technology with a Higher National Diploma in Painting in 2017, he furthered his artistry through an art residency and internship.
Julius’s artworks are a reflection of his life's journey, exploring themes like racial discrimination, politics and spirituality. Employing satires, metaphors, and symbolism, he engages audiences in pertinent socio-political and spiritual issues. His art, threaded with personal experiences, leads him back to Go and a discovery of his life's purpose.
Using diverse mediums like watercolours, oil, acrylic, and charcoal, and techniques such as stencilling typography, and screen-printing, he constantly evolves, now venturing into sculptures with clay, wood, metal, and fibreglass.
His exhibitions with renowned galleries and organizations globally, including The Koppel Project Hiv (London, 2021) and Artemizia Foundation (USA, 2020), highlight his impact on the art world. Featured in local and international news media, his art sparks crucial political conversations in Nigeria, where he resides.
A Lagos resident, Julius draws inspiration from the city's vibrant lifestyle, reflected in his colourful renditions. His involvement in NGOs like the Arts in Medicine Fellowship showcases his commitment to using art for societal betterment. He currently resides and works in Berger, Lagos, immersing himself in both art and community engagement.
Julius’s artworks are a reflection of his life's journey, exploring themes like racial discrimination, politics and spirituality. Employing satires, metaphors, and symbolism, he engages audiences in pertinent socio-political and spiritual issues. His art, threaded with personal experiences, leads him back to Go and a discovery of his life's purpose.
Using diverse mediums like watercolours, oil, acrylic, and charcoal, and techniques such as stencilling typography, and screen-printing, he constantly evolves, now venturing into sculptures with clay, wood, metal, and fibreglass.
His exhibitions with renowned galleries and organizations globally, including The Koppel Project Hiv (London, 2021) and Artemizia Foundation (USA, 2020), highlight his impact on the art world. Featured in local and international news media, his art sparks crucial political conversations in Nigeria, where he resides.
A Lagos resident, Julius draws inspiration from the city's vibrant lifestyle, reflected in his colourful renditions. His involvement in NGOs like the Arts in Medicine Fellowship showcases his commitment to using art for societal betterment. He currently resides and works in Berger, Lagos, immersing himself in both art and community engagement.
SHABU MWANGI
THE 2023 AFRICA/DIASPORA WINNER
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d191b872990bc4216f073de75c93fa6b71ca6982f0dc6722e6d00954eadb5b41/Lawrence-Mwangi.jpg)
Shabu’s practice focuses on the effects of structural and historical violence, and different forms of marginalization on the individual and collective psyche.
Shabu’s paintings are considerations of societal and cultural fissures. His work has previously dealt with questions of collective suffering, and the effects that inequality, marginalization, and other forms of structural violence have on communities.
More recently, his work traces an ongoing personal journey of striving to understand the balance between the two things that drive us, love and pain, and how we react in different ways depending on which of the two is dominant. In this new body of work, he has turned his gaze inwards, focusing on an examination of the self. He asks himself questions about how he sees the people around him and his interactions with them.
Shabu has participated in workshops and residency programs both locally and internationally. His work most recently featured in Systems of Emptiness, a prelude to Documenta15, a group show with Wajukuu Art Collective and The Sources of Our Seas, a solo show at Circle Art Gallery in 2021; East African Encounters, a Circle Art Gallery group exhibition at Cromwell Place in London in 2021, and Self Addressed, an exhibition of self-portraiture by artists from Africa and its diaspora curated by Kehinde Wiley for Deitch Projects LA.
In 2022, Shabu and fellow members of the Wajukuu Art Project participated in Documenta fifteen in Kassel, where they went on to win the Arnold Bode prize. Shabu participated in the 13a Biennial do Mercosul in Brazil in 2022 and his latest exhibition was Winters Memory at GravitArt Gallery 2022. He has had numerous other shows, participating in residencies in Kenya, Germany, and Italy.
Shabu’s paintings are considerations of societal and cultural fissures. His work has previously dealt with questions of collective suffering, and the effects that inequality, marginalization, and other forms of structural violence have on communities.
More recently, his work traces an ongoing personal journey of striving to understand the balance between the two things that drive us, love and pain, and how we react in different ways depending on which of the two is dominant. In this new body of work, he has turned his gaze inwards, focusing on an examination of the self. He asks himself questions about how he sees the people around him and his interactions with them.
Shabu has participated in workshops and residency programs both locally and internationally. His work most recently featured in Systems of Emptiness, a prelude to Documenta15, a group show with Wajukuu Art Collective and The Sources of Our Seas, a solo show at Circle Art Gallery in 2021; East African Encounters, a Circle Art Gallery group exhibition at Cromwell Place in London in 2021, and Self Addressed, an exhibition of self-portraiture by artists from Africa and its diaspora curated by Kehinde Wiley for Deitch Projects LA.
In 2022, Shabu and fellow members of the Wajukuu Art Project participated in Documenta fifteen in Kassel, where they went on to win the Arnold Bode prize. Shabu participated in the 13a Biennial do Mercosul in Brazil in 2022 and his latest exhibition was Winters Memory at GravitArt Gallery 2022. He has had numerous other shows, participating in residencies in Kenya, Germany, and Italy.
ASMAA JAMA
THE 2023 AFRICA/DIASPORA WINNER WITHDRAWN
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The 2023 Access ART X Prize Africa/Diaspora Winner - Asmaa Jama (Somali/Denmark) Asmaa Jama, a self-taught Somali multidisciplinary artist, writer, and filmmaker in Bristol, explores themes of myth, movement, and migration. Their film works, including "Before We Disappear" (2021 commissioned by BBC Arts and "Except this Time Nothing Returns from the Ashes" (2022) at Spike Island, showcase their interactive storytelling.
Jama's art has reached international platforms like the Venice Architecture Biennale and film festivals such as Blackstar and Sharjah Film Platform. Their writing, commissioned by various institutions, appears in publications like The Poetry Review and Nataal. Jama's theatrical involvement spans writing for productions like "Dorothee Munyaneza’s Mailles" and "Akal."
Jama's impactful writing has been commissioned by respected entities like Jerwood Arts, Hayward Gallery, Arnolfini, and Ifa Gallery, with published works featured in notable publications like The Poetry Review and Nataal.
Jama was commended for the Brunel African Poetry Prize (2022); and shortlisted for the New Poets Prize (2022) Queen Mary Wasafiri Writing Prize (2021); James Berry Poetry Prize (2021); To Speak Europe in Other Languages Prize (2020), and longlisted for National Poetry Competition ( 2021 ) and is a Cave Canem Fellow. Their accolades include commendations for the Brunel African Poetry Prize and residencies at prestigious institutions like the School for Sonic Memory, and Mucem/Onassis Stegi.
Recently, Jama's solo exhibition at Spike Island culminated with a commissioned showcase across 25 billboard sites in Bristol, exhibiting their diverse artistic talent.
Jama's art has reached international platforms like the Venice Architecture Biennale and film festivals such as Blackstar and Sharjah Film Platform. Their writing, commissioned by various institutions, appears in publications like The Poetry Review and Nataal. Jama's theatrical involvement spans writing for productions like "Dorothee Munyaneza’s Mailles" and "Akal."
Jama's impactful writing has been commissioned by respected entities like Jerwood Arts, Hayward Gallery, Arnolfini, and Ifa Gallery, with published works featured in notable publications like The Poetry Review and Nataal.
Jama was commended for the Brunel African Poetry Prize (2022); and shortlisted for the New Poets Prize (2022) Queen Mary Wasafiri Writing Prize (2021); James Berry Poetry Prize (2021); To Speak Europe in Other Languages Prize (2020), and longlisted for National Poetry Competition ( 2021 ) and is a Cave Canem Fellow. Their accolades include commendations for the Brunel African Poetry Prize and residencies at prestigious institutions like the School for Sonic Memory, and Mucem/Onassis Stegi.
Recently, Jama's solo exhibition at Spike Island culminated with a commissioned showcase across 25 billboard sites in Bristol, exhibiting their diverse artistic talent.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Having faced a challenging task in selecting the winners, given the exceptional level of talent and creativity on display, the jury selected Roanna Tella (Nigerian category) and Shabu Mwangi (African/Diaspora category) for honourable mentions. Both artists received prizes of $2,000 and tailored mentorship.
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Roanna Tella,
Nigeria
Nigeria
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Lawrence Shabu Mwangi,
Kenya
Kenya
The Finalists
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Anne Mutema,
Zimbabwe
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Chidimma Nwafor,
Nigeria
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Chinwe Chigbu
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Dior Thiam,
Germany
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Edward Prah,
Ghana
Ghana
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Wale Matuluko,
Nigeria
Nigeria
THE JURY
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ARTIST
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