Artes Mundi, the UK’s biggest prize for contemporary art, has announced the shortlist for its seventh edition. The seven artists nominated for the £40,000 award, which is presented every two years in Cardiff, Wales, are: John Akomfrah (UK), Neïl Beloufa (France/Algeria), Amy Franceschini with the Futurefarmers collective (USA/Belgium), Lamia Joreige (Lebanon), Nástio Mosquito (Angola), Hito Steyerl (Germany/Japan) and Bedwyr Williams (UK).
While the more famous Turner Prize, the annual award established by the Tate in 1984, is restricted to British or UK-based artists under 50, Artes Mundi was created in 2002 to celebrate international art that engages with “the human condition, social reality and lived experience”, according to its website. Of the Artes Mundi 7 shortlist, chosen from more than 700 nominations across 90 countries, only two artists are British—Akomfrah and Williams, who represented Wales at the Venice Biennale in 2013.
An exhibition of works by the shortlisted artists—including past and new pieces—is due to open next October at National Museum Cardiff and Chapter gallery in Cardiff. It remains to be seen whether the winner, to be announced in January 2017, will be as generous as the last: the American artist Theaster Gates shared the prize money for Artes Mundi 6 with his fellow nominees earlier this year.