Nigerian artist, Peju Alatise, has been announced as the 2017 recipient of the highly coveted FNB Art Prize

Over the years, the FNB Art Prize has not only celebrated the work of shining South African artists, but has also been awarded to ground breaking artists from around the African continent. This has allowed both the Fair and the FNB Art Prize to enhance a creative dialogue within the growing contemporary African art markets. This continental wide focus continues to guide the underlying principle of both the FNB Art Prize and the FNB JoburgArtFair.

Alatise is based in Lagos, Nigeria and currently is represented by Red Door Gallery. She is a mixed medium artist with a degree in architecture and is also a skilled poet and writer with several novels in publication. Throughout her 13+ year as a studio artist her subject matter has evolved with her continued experiences, moving her focus from advocating the equal rights of women, to politics to philosophical inclination. On the topic of gender issues, she probes into the joys and pains of womanhood as experienced in modern African traditions, as well as their consequences.

Alatise has had several solo exhibitions and her works are in private and institutional collections around the world. She represented Nigeria at the 57th Venice Biennale.

Peju Alatise, o is the new + (cross)

As a winner of the FNB Art Prize, Alatise joins Nolan Oswald Dennis, Turiya Magadlela, Portia Zvavahera and Kudzani Chiurai in winning the prestigious and coveted prize since it’s launch in 2011.

The winning artist receives a cash prize as well as an opportunity to showcase their work in a dedicated space at the FNB JoburgArtFair. These are enhanced further by the media interest and coverage of the fair that helps to catapult the artist and his work to the centre of contemporary art discourse. This in turn helps to build popular investment into the winner’s budding career; hence helping to make sustainable.

All galleries participating in the FNB JoburgArtFair are given the opportunity to nominate one of their artists for consideration by our jury. This year the FNB Art prize committee consisted of Performa Founding Director RoseLee Goldberg, South African collector Pulane Kingston and FNB JoburgArtFair Producer Nicole Siegenthaler.