Startpoint 2021

Prize for european art graduates

Project Curator

Pavel Vančát
Project curator

Jury Members

Marcel Fišer
Director, GAVU Cheb

Christelle Havránek

Chief curator, Kunsthalle Praha

Adam Mazur
Curator and editor, Szum Magazine, Warsaw

Radek Váňa
Curator, Amsterdam

Organizer

Nadační fond současného umění
Havlíčkova 118/5
Brno, 602 00, Czech Rep.

POSTAL ADRESS
Na výtoni 10
12800 Praha 2

CO-ORGANIZERS

KAMPUS HYBERNSKÁ
ARTI ET AMICITIAE

In the nineteen years of its existence, the StartPoint Prize has grown from an initially national graduate’s showcase to a large-scale European project tracking emerging artistic talent. Each year, members of the international curatorial team and other collaborators map around 20 art schools from many European countries to select the most interesting works. These then go through further curatorial selection into a final exhibition of the most outstanding emerging European artists. The individual representatives of each school are presented on the project website www.startpointprize.eu.

In addition to the exhibition, accompanied by a catalogue and website, it is above all a meeting of up-and-coming artists and professionals across countries, traditions, and genres, which can bring them and the audience new opportunities for comparison. This rapprochement is further developed by the STARTED residency programme for the winner and awarded finalists, which this year culminates in an exhibition at the Berlinskej model Gallery on 1 December. In this turbulent year, the project turns to its roots and focuses more strongly on Czech art schools, but also on reconnecting with the youngest audience.

On the opening day of the main exhibition, an international jury will select the winner of the main prize as well as several honorable mentions. The prize for all the winners is a month-long residency in Prague the following year combined with the exhibition. In addition, the winner of the main prize has the opportunity to publish his own catalogue.


The StartPoint Prize project was created in 2003 at the Galerie Klatovy/Klenová as a competition for graduates of Czech art academies. It soon expanded to the surrounding countries, and in 2009 the award was extended with the Started residency program for award-winning artists. Since 2010, the StartPoint project has become independent and was presented in many prestigious institutions in Czechia (GASK Kutná Hora, Wannieck Gallery Brno, DOX Prague, National Gallery in Prague, Brno House of Arts) and abroad (Bucharest, Bratislava, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Ghent). Since 2017, StartPoint has been under the patronage of the Fund for Contemporary Art, which also manages the renowned Richard Adam Collection. During its nineteen years of existence, hundreds of artists have participated in StartPoint, and all of them together create a unique geographical and temporal cross-section of contemporary European contemporary art in its freshest form.

PROGRAMME

Prague 3. – 22. 12. 2021
Galerie HYB4, Kampus Hybernská

Amsterdam spring 2022
Arti et Amicitiae, Rokin 112

The project has been supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and by the City Hall of Prague.