News | 7 Win The 2017 Prince Claus Awards.

The Prince Claus Foundation, Amsterdam, has announced a list of the 2017 Price Claus Laureates. This year, there is a joint Principal Prince Claus Award honouring two outstanding socially engaged cultural practitioners, and five additional exceptional Prince Clause Laureates.

The two Principal Prince Clause Laureates are:

Vincent Carelli – Filmmaker & indigenous activist, Brazil

Ma Jun – New media designer & environmentalist, China

The five additional Prince Claus Laureates are:

Khadija Al-Salami – documentary filmmaker, Yemen

Association l’Art Rue – Public art collective, Tunisia

Brigitte LG Baptiste – Scientist & environmentalist, Colombia

Amar Kanwar – Visual artist, India

Diebedo Francis Kere – Architect, Burkina Faso

For the past 21 years, the Prince Claus Awards has honoured outstanding achievements in the field of culture and development. The awards are presented annually to individuals, groups and organisations whose cultural actions have a positive impact on the development of their societies.

For the 2017 Prince Claus Awards, 337 people were invited to make nominations. A total of 143 nominations was received and researched by the Bureau. The Awards Committee met and drew up a shortlist of 46 from which the final 7 winners are drawn from. 

Diebedo Francis Kere

Diébédo Francis Kéré (1965, Gando, Burkina Faso) the only African individual laureate is an Architect who creates buildings of great beauty that meet people’s needs. He shows that architecture can be a generous profession dedicated to increasing people’s well-being. His designs are based on ecological principles and sustainability. He uses local materials and merges local building traditions with contemporary construction techniques. Kéré engages deeply with the local community to create a sense of pride and ownership in his projects. He explains his plans and methods, trains local people in modern construction techniques and employs them in the building process, so they are keen to maintain the structures and have the skills to undertake further development on their own.

                                         

L’Art Rue (2006, Tunis, Tunisia) is a public art collective that is transforming life in Tunis through re-appropriating public space for creative expression and public participation. Founded in 2006 by choreographers and dancers Selma and Sofiane Ouissi, L’Art Rue runs a range of activities. It takes art to children and teenagers in schools, organises workshops for artists and urban professionals, provides residences and initiates collaborative research, reflection and production. It has started a free quarterly review of critical contemporary writing on art in public space and the relationship between art and civic and political life that is distributed in North Africa and Europe

In December each year, the Principal Prince Claus Award is presented to the Principal Laureate(s) and further Laureates in a ceremony at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam in the presence of members of the Royal Family and an international audience.  The Prince Claus Awards are also presented to the recipients at ceremonies in their respective countries by the Dutch Ambassadors.