Q: WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE PRIZE?
A: The Access ART X Prize
Q: WHAT IS THE ACCESS ART X PRIZE?
A: The Access ART X Prize is an annual award for emerging artists in Africa and its Diaspora The Prize awards early-career artists with opportunities to develop their practices, with the intention of setting them up for the highest levels of success on the global stage. The ART X Prize will award two exceptional emerging artists with funding and tailored mentoring support, enabling them to complete compelling, ambitious projects that will further their careers and challenge the expectations of audiences across the world.
Q: WHO CAN APPLY FOR THE ACCESS ART X PRIZE?
- Emerging artists who have been practising for 3 years or more, and are not enrolled in any undergraduate program.
- For the Nigeria winner, you must: be a citizen of Nigeria, living and working in Nigeria, and
- For the African/Diasporan winner: a person of African descent, heritage or lineage, living and working in any African Country, or any Participant who identifies as a member of the African Diaspora globally and can trace their ancestry and connection to Africa.
- NOTE: Winners and finalists of previous editions of the Access ART X Prize are not permitted to apply. Previous non-finalists are welcome to re-apply.
Q: HOW MANY WINNERS ARE THERE?
A: Two: one Nigerian winner and one African/Diasporan winner.
Q: WHAT ARE THE AWARDS?
The Nigeria Award
3-month residency to be held at Gasworks, London, United Kingdom in 2025- An exhibition at ART X Lagos 2025
- $10,000 grant towards the production of the Presentation
- Mentoring and networking to realize, promote, and contextualize the Project
The Africa/Diaspora Award
- 3-month residency to be held at Gasworks, London, United Kingdom in 2025
- An exhibition at ART X Lagos 2025
- $10,000 grant towards the production of the Presentation
- Mentoring and networking to realize, promote, and contextualize the Project
Q: WHO ARE THE PREVIOUS WINNERS?
- Patrick Akpojotor - 2016
- Habeeb Andu - 2017
- Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola - 2018
- Etinosa Yvonne - 2019
- Chigozie Obi - 2021
- Dafe Oboro (Nigerian winner) & Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński (African/Diasporan winner) - 2022
- Julius Agbaje (Nigerian winner), Asmaa Jama (African/Diasporan winner - withdrawn) & Shabu Mwangi (African/Diasporan winner) - 2023
Q: WHO IS THE SPONSOR?
A: Access Holdings - the parent company of Access Bank.
Q: WHAT LANGUAGE(S) CAN APPLICATIONS BE MADE IN?
A: Applicants must be fluent in spoken and written English to make submissions for the Access ART X Prize.
Q: CAN I APPLY IF I AM NOT FLUENT IN ENGLISH
A: At this time, the Access ART X Prize is not able to provide language support for non-English speakers. We hope to cater to applicants fluent in other languages in the following years.
Q: HOW DO I APPLY?
A: All applications must be submitted online via the application page.
Q: IS THERE AN APPLICATION FEE?
A: No. Applying for the Access ART X Prize is free.
Q: ARE COLLECTIVES OR GROUPS ELIGIBLE FOR THE PRIZE?
A: No, the Access ART X Prize is designed to support individual artists.
Q: DO I HAVE TO WORK IN A PARTICULAR ART MEDIUM TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION?
A: All works of art, regardless of category or media are eligible for submission by an applicant.
Q: I DIDN’T GO TO ART SCHOOL. CAN I APPLY?
A: Yes, self-taught artists are also encouraged to apply.
Q: I HAVE ONLY PRACTISED FOR 2 YEARS, IS THERE FLEXIBILITY IN THE REQUIREMENTS?
A: We encourage those who are not sure whether they have been practising long enough to apply.