The PinchukArtCentre (Kyiv, Ukraine) has announced Ashfika Rahman (35, Bangladesh) as the winner of the Future Generation Art Prize 2024.
Marking the prize’s 15th anniversary and 7th edition, the global art prize for artists under 35 offers a remarkable view of the artistic vision from the next generation of artists; discovering, recognizing and giving long-term support to a future generation of artists all over the world.
The winner was announced by the international jury in Kyiv on October 29th. Ashfika Rahman received a total of 100,000 USD: 60,000 USD as a cash prize, and 40,000 USD to fund their artistic practice. An additional 20,000 USD was awarded to Special Prize winners Tara Abdullah Mohammed Sharif (27, Iraq), Bekhbaatar Enkhtur (29, Mongolia), Dina Mimi (29, Palestine), Hira Nabi (36, Pakistan), Ipeh Nur (30, Indonesia), Zhang Xu Zhan (35, Taiwan).
Ashfika Rahman’s winning work for the PinchukArtCentre employs photography, prints, text and sculpture to examine the role of women in society. Often working with communities, Rahman articulates stories that have been historically silenced, not only in Bangladesh, where Rahman is based but also globally. Drawing inspiration from territories that have been divided and renegotiated by geopolitical powers, Rahman’s work demonstrates a commitment and focus on the ideals of community building and repair in the face of collective trauma.
The winners were chosen by the prize’s distinguished international jury, consisting of: Cecilia Alemani, Curator of The Milk of Dreams, 59th International Art Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia (2022); Björn Geldhof, Artistic Director at the PinchukArtCentre; Diane Lima, Independent curator, writer, and a key Black feminist voice in Brazilian contemporary art; Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Director and chief curator of Haus der Kulturen der Welt; Alicia Knock, Curator, Head of the Contemporary Creation and Prospective Department at the Centre Pompidou; Simon Njami, Independent curator, lecturer, art critic, and novelist and Hou Hanru, Art critic and curator, former Artistic Director of MAXXI, National Museum of 21st Century Arts, Rome.
The exhibition of the 21 shortlisted artists for the 7th edition of the Future Generation Art Prize is on show at the PinchukArtCentre in Kyiv until 19th January 2025. Featuring new works and recent projects by shortlisted artists, selected from over 12,000 entries across almost 200 countries, the artists bring unique cultural perspectives and a diversity of artistic approaches to Kyiv to engage with today’s most pressing issues.
Established by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in 2009, the Future Generation Art Prize is a biannual global contemporary art prize open to all artists aged 35 or younger. Championing creativity, the prize continues Ukraine’s important connection with the global arts community.
Ashfika Rahman addressed to the audience:
This award feels particularly meaningful, especially given the global political climate we’re going through. Future Generation Art Prize offers a unique platform where voices can be heard openly, allowing us to be both expressive and politically engaged. This is a space where people from all over the world can speak freely.
I’m very grateful for the opportunity, and I want to thank everyone who has stood by me throughout my artistic journey. This award isn’t just a recognition of today—it holds lasting significance. The courage shown by those in Ukraine, who organized this event despite immense challenges, makes this award even more extraordinary. It’s a powerful moment for art and the world. Thank you so much.
Commenting on Ashfika Rahman as the winner of the Future Generation Art Prize 2024, the Jury said:
The jury celebrates Rahman’s brave work that articulates stories that have been historically silenced, not only in Bangladesh and India where Rahman draws her inspiration from, but also globally.
Echoing the history of the partitioning of the Indian subcontinent, and the resulting sociopolitical, religious, gender implications in the contemporary, her work is testament to a collective trauma, that is shared with the viewer but also transcended through the sublime yet humble and fragile aesthetics of the work. Taken from territories incessantly divided and renegotiated by various geopolitical powers, Rahman weaves a collective entity unfolding along a river that connects fragmented lands and bodies. A floating embroidery between land and sky links the human condition and aspiration for gender justice with mythology and spirituality. Rahman represents a future generation of artists that are committed to the ideals of community building and repair.
The shortlist of the Future Generation Art Prize 2024 includes Sinzo Aanza (33, Congo), Tara Abdullah Mohammed Sharif (27, Iraq), Julian Abraham ‘Togar’ (36, Indonesia), Andrius Arutiunian (32, Lithuania), Salim Bayri (31, Morocco), Castiel Vitorino Brasileiro (27, Brazil), Giulia Cenci (35, Italy), Nolan Oswald Dennis (35, South Africa), Yasmine El Meleegy (32, Egypt), Bekhbaatar Enkhtur (29, Mongolia), Veronika Hapchenko (28, Ukraine), Dana Kavelina (28, Ukraine), Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien (33, France), Dina Mimi (29, Palestine), Sandra Mujinga (34, Norway), Hira Nabi (36, Pakistan), Ipeh Nur (30, Indonesia), Ashfika Rahman (35, Bangladesh), Buhlebezwe Siwani (36, South Africa), Zhang Xu Zhan (35, Taiwan) and Ziyang Wu (33, China).
MORE: futuregenerationartprize.org
A major contribution to the open participation of younger artists in the dynamic cultural development of societies in global transition, the Prize has supported the artistic development and production of new works of over 140 artists in exhibitions at the PinchukArtCentre in Kyiv and the Venice Biennale.
The Future Generation Art Prize is widely acknowledged as a springboard for emerging talent. Lynette Yiadom Boakye won the Prize in 2012, before going on to be shortlisted for the Turner Prize and a highly successful solo show at the Serpentine Gallery in London in 2015. The winner of the first edition of the Prize, Cinthia Marcelle, represented Brazil at the 57th International Art Exhibition in 2017. Previous main prize winners also include Dineo Seshee Bopape, winning in 2017, who represented South Africa at the 58th International Art Exhibition in 2019.
