©MUSÉE DES PAPETERIES CANSON ET MONTGOLFIER
The Prix Canson has revealed the finalists for its 2016 edition. Given out annually by the Fonds Canson pour l’Art et le Papier, the prize recognizes an artist who makes works on paper and has contributed to his or her respective field.
Now in its fifth year, the Prix Canson will have its awards ceremony at New York’s Drawing Center, where the winner will be announced on June 21. The winner will receive €10,000 (about $11,300), and all five finalists will be shown in an exhibition at the Drawing Center that opens on June 22. Adrián Villar Rojas won last year’s prize, which was given out at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.
This year’s nominees are as follows:
- Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze (b. 1982)
- Bethany Collins (b. 1984)
- Njideka Akunyili Crosby (b. 1983)
- David Shrigley (b. 1968)
- Lucy Skaer (b. 1975)
Tunga, the Brazilian artist known for his hard-to-describe sculptures about mythology and the body, will return to the Prix Canson again this year to head up the prize’s jury. The other jury members are Ian Alteveer, an associate curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Bice Curiger, the editor-in-chief of Parkett; Amanda Hunt, an assistant curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem; Brett Littman, the director of the Drawing Center; Helen Molesworth, a chief curator at MOCA Los Angeles; Frédéric Paul, a curator at the Centre Pompidou; Katherine Stout, the head of program at the ICA London; and Michael Woolworth, a print master.
The Prix Canson is awarded by the Fonds Canson pour l’Art et le Papier, a French foundation formed in 2010 and named for Canson, the paper manufacturer. Canson was founded in 1557, and has since gone on to produce paper used for photographs, hot-air balloons, and works by Vincent van Gogh, Andy Warhol, and many others.
In a statement about this year’s prize, Stéphane Hamelin, the president of the Fonds Canson pour l’Art et le Papier, said, “The Prix Canson’s goal is to encourage and promote artistic creation, and help artists build up their profile. We intend to develop the prize on an international scale and make it truly world-class.”