Ashfika Rahman Wins the Future Generation Art Prize 2024
Renowned Bangladeshi artist Ashfika Rahman has been honored with the prestigious Future Generation Art Prize for 2024, as announced in Kyiv last week. This announcement had been postponed for a year due to the ongoing conflict arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The 35-year-old artist, originally from Dhaka and currently residing in Amsterdam, was awarded a total prize of $100,000 (€92,000), which includes $60,000 (€55,000) as cash and $40,000 (€37,000) dedicated to supporting her artistic endeavors. Her acclaimed work, titled Behula and a Thousand Tales, integrates various mediums—including photography, prints, text, and sculpture—while delving into the often-overlooked narratives of women’s roles in society. This multifaceted piece was selected from over 12,000 submissions spanning nearly 200 countries.
The jury celebrated Rahman’s work as “a floating embroidery between land and sky,” commending how it connects the human experience with the quest for gender justice through the lens of mythology and spirituality.
During her acceptance speech at the ceremony, Rahman expressed her sentiments about the award: “This award feels particularly meaningful, especially given the global political climate we’re going through. The Future Generation Art Prize offers a unique platform where voices can be heard openly, allowing us to be both expressive and politically engaged. This is a space where people from all over the world can speak freely.”
In addition to Rahman’s achievement, an extra $20,000 (€18,000) was distributed among the Special Prize winners, including:
- Tara Abdullah Mohammed Sharif (27, Iraq)
- Bekhbaatar Enkhtur (29, Mongolia)
- Dina Mimi (29, Palestine)
- Hira Nabi (36, Pakistan)
- Ipeh Nur (30, Indonesia)
- Zhang Xu Zhan (35, Taiwan)
While the prize has significantly spotlighted Ukrainian artists on a global platform—this year featuring shortlisted talents like Veronika Hapchenko and Dana Kavelina—Björn Geldhof, the Artistic Director of the PinchukArtCentre, emphasizes the prize’s broader significance. He believes it stands as a potent symbol of openness and cultural exchange, transcending the mere promotion of Ukrainian creativity.
Geldhof remarked, “Now, working in times that are extremely challenging, the prize is also a show of strength and resilience… It demonstrates that no matter what, Ukraine remains a country that is open to the world and continues to engage with topics and issues that concern others.”
These “challenging times” have been acutely felt in the lead-up to the exhibition, which saw its opening postponed from August due to power outages in Kyiv caused by attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
The esteemed jury for this year’s award included prominent figures such as Cecilia Alemani, Curator of the 59th Venice Biennale; Alicia Knock, Curator and Head of the Contemporary Creation and Prospective Department at Paris’s Centre Pompidou; and art critic and curator Hou Hanru, the former Artistic Director of MAXXI in Rome.
Previous winners of the Future Generation Art Prize include notable artists like Nastio Mosquito from Angola, who has since showcased his work at Fondazione Prada in Milan and MoMa in New York; Cinthia Marcelle from Brazil, whose solo exhibitions have been featured at MoMa PS1; and Aziz Hazara, whose work was commissioned for the 58th Carnegie International.
The Future Generation Art Prize exhibition will be on display until January 19, 2025, at the PinchukArtCentre in Kyiv, Ukraine.
