Emerging Painting Invitational (EPI) is the pan-African prize of emerging painting
The Emerging African Art Galleries Association (EAAGA) is proud to announce the second annual edition of the Emerging Painting Invitational (EPI). Inaugurated last year in Harare Zimbabwe, the prize is the first of its kind, dedicated to supporting emerging contemporary painting and painters across the continent.
This year, EPI features 17 finalists from 8 African countries. Due to travel restrictions across Africa, the 2020 edition will be taking place from 12 to 19 October 2020 as an online exhibition project supported by programme of talks, studio visits and interactions
The EPI winners will be announced on 19 October with top prize winner awarded US$3000 sponsored by South Africa’s leading auction house Strauss & Co and second and third prize winners receiving $2000 and $1000 respectively with additional residency and exhibition prize awarded also.
“While contemporary African art has been on the rise internationally, developing skills and engaging the international art world is still a challenge for many young painters on the continent” says Valerie Kabov, EAAGA Chair. “EPI intends to help motivate, support and develop the practices and careers of young African visual artists. Supporting emerging painters is not just enormously significant culturally, it is to ensure the economic sustainability of local art sectors. EPI was developed with a holistic vision for art on the continent”.
List of Finalists (Alphabetical by first name):
1. Agnes Waruguru Njoroge (Kenya)
2. Dorra Mahjoubi (Tunisia)
3. Elias Mung’ora (Kenya)
4. Emna Kahouaji (Tunisia)
5. Eyasu Telayneh (Ethiopia)
6. George Masarira (Zimbabwe)
7. Kirubel Abebe (Ethiopia)
8. Kylie Wentzel (South Africa)
9. Lincoln Mwangi (Kenya)
10. Lwando Dlamini (South Africa)
11. Peteros Ndunde ( Kenya)
12. Sejiro Avoseh (Nigeria)
13. Selome Muleta (Ethiopia)
14. Willy Karekezi (Rwanda)
15. Tashinga Majiri (Zimbabwe)
16. Thebe Phetogo (Botswana)
17. Yolanda Mazwana (South Africa)
We are proud to announce three remarkable women artists as Jurors for EPI 2020: Dorothy Amenuke, sculptor and lecturer at the Department of Painting and Sculpture of the Faculty of Fine Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) (Kumasi, Ghana), Amel Bennys a painter and sculptor, based in Tunis and Paris, Tunisia and Florine Demosthene, a painter who is based between Accra, Haiti and New York.
This year’s Juror Amel Bennys notes that the value of EPI as a project is to enable artists: “Not to be trapped in a stereotype that critics, curators, and others in the art world, non-African, even African, expect from us, us African artists or of African origin.”
Dorothy Amenuke adds that the pan-African nature of EPI is a way of ‘Nurturing what is your “own” inadvertently implies building “the Self” for the sake of “the Whole”!!!
EPI 2019 Juror Maja Maljevic “EPI is an excellent forward thinking initiative. The future of art, and especially painting, from the continent deserve to take their rightful place on the international stage”
Speaking about their experiences, 2019 EPI winners had the following to say:
“I am very happy not just for myself but also to represent emerging artists in Mozambique. The group of artists I met through EPI are now part of my community of peers and this is wonderful. I have also met a lot of professional supporters and fans of my work, which is important for my career going forward and my artistic practice”(Nelly Guambe, Mozambique, 1st prize).
“The experience was informative in the sense of mixing with different cultures and ideologies behind the work production processes. Winning the second prize is most important for the opportunity which comes with it, to improve my production and production space” (Epheas Maposa, Zimbabwe, 2nd prize).
“It’s a great honour to be the third prize winner among these amazing talented artists. I observe that all finalists have their own unique styles and deep potentials. It has been a pleasure to meet them and to have useful conversations with them. I want to acknowledge all the EPI team and artists for your true hospitality, sharing, experiences and the great exposure you create for all of us!”(Surafel Amare, Ethiopia, 3rd prize).
To be eligible for EPI, artists must be under 30 years old, living and working on the continent, and have painting as their primary discipline.
Sponsors:
Strauss & Co, Art Africa Magazine, Emerging Africa Art Galleries Association, Pro Helvetia Johannesburg/Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), The African Arts Trust, First Floor Gallery Harare, Artfundi, Kalashnikovv Gallery, Angola Air, Espaço Luanda Arte, Guns & Rain.
