Descripción del Premio
Tekla Aslanishvili (b. Georgia, 1988), is the recipient of the Han Nefkens Foundation - Fundació Antoni Tàpies Video Art Production Award 2020.
“One of the greatest pleasures our projects give me is the opportunity to discover young artists who show us a new way of looking at the world. Tekla Aslanishvili is such an artist. In her very own voice she investigates issues that concern us all such as the extractive and arms industries.”
“Her thoughtful and well researched approach makes me confident that we can look forward to a fruitful collaboration together with our partners in the different international venues that once again form part of our endeavour.”
— Han Nefkens, Founder Han Nefkens Foundation
Tekla Aslanishvili will receive $15,000 from the Han Nefkens Foundation to support the production of a new, limited edition video. One of the editions of this video will be a donation to the foundation and will be exhibited internationally by the five collaborating institutions: the Fundació Antoni Tàpies in Barcelona; the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore; WIELS in Brussels; the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design in Manila, and Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai. The winning artist needs to complete the new work by the end of November 2021.
The Han Nefkens Foundation - Fundació Antoni Tàpies Video Art Production Award aims to be a tool for increasing contemporary artistic production in the video art field. The award appraises the work of emerging artists aged 35 and under, who live in West or Central Asia and who have established a solid trajectory but not yet received recognition by important international art institutions.
Eleven internationally respected art critics and curators have undertaken the scouting process, proposing three candidates each; the pre-selection of twelve artists was drawn up by the directors of all participating institutions, who then also decided whom the final recipient of the award will be.
Tekla Aslanishvili was selected from this shortlist by the director of each institution for the forthcoming travelling exhibition and Han Nefkens, Founder of the Han Nefkens Foundation.
The Selection Committee stated: “We, the jury unanimously choose Tekla Aslanishvili as the recipient of the 2020 Award. Tekla's body of meticulously researched work is committed to exploring a specific geopolitical context yet connects to a wider discourse on the impact of extractivist economies on a planetary scale. We are enthusiastic about the potential for development and progression in her unique and committed artistic language."
Tekla Aslanishvili states: “My experimental documentaries, video installations and texts explore the intersections between design, history and geopolitics. By focusing on the technological, historical and cultural components of large-scale infrastructure projects, such as smart cities, special trade zones and ports, as well as the extractive and arms industries, my work processes the complex interdependencies at the heart of the global economy.”
“My artistic practice is predominantly characterised by an interdisciplinary collaboration with other knowledge and culture producers. The sharing of expertise and perspectives allows me to zoom out from specific geographical and temporal contexts and examine local events from a distance. As a result of this approach, my work traces speculative resonances between different spaces and events: the flowing curves of the sculpture, algorithmically generated for a futuristic port city, stand for the pursuit of seamless transport logistics; the rotations of the mining machines in peripheral countries indicate the destructive cycle of the global arms industries; the twisted historical and literary references, represent the future built by state governments and private investors by inventing and mythologizing the past.”
Tekla Aslanishvili is an artist, filmmaker and essayist based between Berlin and Tbilisi. Her work focuses on new forms of algorithmic governance and their impact on urban spaces and their subjects. Tekla graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 2009 and she holds a MFA from the Berlin University of the Arts - the department of the Experimental Film and New Media Art. Aslanishvilis's work has been screened and exhibited internationally at the Tbilisi Architecture Biennial, Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Kunstverein Leipzig, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, Ashkal Alwan, Beirut, VISIO – European Programme on Artists' Moving Images, Florence, Pylon Lab, Dresden, 20. International Film Symposium, Bremen. She is a 2018–2019 Digital Earth Fellow and most recently a nominee for Ars-Viva Art prize 2021.
The shortlist for the Han Nefkens Foundation – Fundació Antoni Tàpies Video Art Production Award 2020 included:
● Abdullah Al-Mutairi (1990, Kuwait/USA)
● Alaa Mansour (1989, Lebanon)
● Alia Farid (1985, Kuwait/USA)
● Ana Gzirishvili (1992, Georgia)
● Aykan Safoğlu (1984, Turkey/Germany)
● Bahar Noorizadeh (1988, Iran)
● Farhad Farzali (1989, Azerbaijan)
● Karam Ghossein (1987, Lebanon)
● Mohammed Alfaraj (1993, Saudi Arabia)
● Nour Ouayda (1991, Lebanon)
● Omar Mismar (1986, Lebanon)
● Tekla Aslanishvili (1988, Georgia)
The initial candidates for the Han Nefkens Foundation – Fundació Antoni Tàpies Video Art Production Award 2020 were selected by:
● Ala Younis (Kuwait/Jordania)
● Ana Gabelaia (Georgia)
● Christine Tohmè (Lebanon)
● Edwin Nasr (Lebanon)
● Ellen Kapanadze (Georgia)
● Inga Lāce (Latvia)
● Melissa Gronlund (UAE)
● Omar Kholeif (Egypt)
● Rasha Salti (Lebanon/Germany)
● Ruba Katrib (Syria/USA)
● Till Fellrath (Germany)
The final jury was composed of:
● Han Nefkens: Founder of the Han Nefkens Foundation
● Carles Guerra: Representing the Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona
● Dirk Snauwaert: Director of WIELS, Brussels
● Joselina Cruz: Director/Curator at Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Manila
● Nora Razian: Head of Exhibitions at Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai
● Ute Meta Bauer: Founding Director of the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art, Singapore
In the presence of:
● Hilde Teerlinck: Director of the Han Nefkens Foundation
● Alessandra Biscaro: Coordinator of the Han Nefkens Foundation
● Zoë Gray: Senior Curator of WIELS, Brussels
● Karin Oen: Deputy Director, Curatorial Programmes at NTU Centre for Contemporary
Art, Singapore
Premio. 28 oct de 2020 - 28 oct de 2020 / Barcelona, España
Premio. 28 oct de 2020 - 28 oct de 2020 / Barcelona, España
Exposición. 13 dic de 2024 - 04 may de 2025 / CAAC - Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo / Sevilla, España
Formación. 01 oct de 2024 - 04 abr de 2025 / PHotoEspaña / Madrid, España