Three art practitioners win Impart Art Prize, will receive $20,000 each
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Artist Zarina Muhammad, one of three winners of this year's Impart Art Prize, giving a lecture titled Flowers From Our Bloodlines in 2017.
PHOTO: NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART SINGAPORE.
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SINGAPORE - Two home-grown artists and a curator have each received $20,000 in the fifth edition of the Impart Art Prize,
Curator Berny Tan, 31, and artists Lin Huiyi, 41 and Zarina Muhammad, 39, were the winners of this year's prize, which is organised by non-profit organisation Art Outreach.
Ms Tan, who is also an artist, said that this was the first art prize she has won. "It's quite validating that people think there is a value in my art practice," she added.
"As an independent curator, I don't have a steady income as I go from project to project. Having this money gives me more elasticity to pursue projects that I want to pursue and not (curate) just for the sake of an income."
Art Outreach, which promotes visual literacy in Singapore, began the annual prize in 2017 to support the professional development of emerging artists and curators, while building awareness and appreciation of Singapore art and its practitioners.
The prize money was sponsored by Marina Bay Sands under its Sands Cares community engagement initiative.
One criterion for the prize this year was to recognise the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
For Zarina, the last two years have been a time for reflection and re-evaluation of her past work. "The Impart Art Prize was a way of getting critical feedback and assessment of my work and offering new perspectives," she said.
She added that the prize money will go towards her ongoing research-based projects, which will involve local, regional and international collaborators.
Lin, who has a background in economics and business management, will also put the prize money towards future projects. She said she supports her art practice with income from her other professions, including as a market researcher.
The five-member jury for the prize included Ms Catherine David, deputy director at Paris art museum Centre Pompidou, and Mr Russell Storer, director of curatorial, research and exhibitions at the National Gallery Singapore.
