Tomas Colbengtson is the winner of The Queen Sonja Print Award, the world’s most important prize for printmaking, it was announced today. The Award will be presented to the artist by Her Majesty Queen Sonja of Norway on 5th June in Bodø, European Capital of Culture 2024. The Award Ceremony will take place in a beautiful outdoor setting at Keiservarden, a mountain plateau offering spectacular views of the sea and the Lofoten Islands.
The Award is unique in enjoying the patronage of a member of the Royal Family, who is also an acclaimed artist. It is presented every two years to an outstanding, often young, artist who has excelled in the field of printmaking. Artists from all over the world are nominated by a wide range of international professionals, curators, artists and art institutions.
Her Majesty Queen Sonja of Norway said:
I am delighted that this year the award has gone to a Sami artist. Tomas Colbengtson’s work is already represented in museum collections and I hope this prize will make his work know even more widely internationally.
The Queen Sonja Print Award was initiated by HM Queen Sonja of Norway through the Queen Sonja Art Foundation, established in 2011 to promote graphic art, generate interest and stimulate the development of contemporary printmaking.
Previous winners: 2022 Yto Barrada, France/Morocco; 2020 Ciara Phillips, Canada/UK; 2018 Emma Nishimura, Canada; 2016 Tauba Auerbach, USA; 2014 Svend-Allan Sørensen, Denmark; and 2012 Tiina Kivinen, Finland.
The Swedish artist Maria Kayo Mpoyi is the winner of the QSPA Inspirational Award, a prize for an emerging Nordic artist – either a student or a recent graduate – that enables the winner to enjoy a period of study in New York. The Award was initiated by HM The Queen in memory of the artist Kjell Nupen. Maria Kayo Mpoyi is a graduate of the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm.
The internationally celebrated artist Anselm Kiefer has been awarded The Queen Sonja Lifetime Achievement Award. He joins past winners of the Award: David Hockney (2018), Paula Rego (2020) and William Kentridge (2022).
