European Prize for Applied Arts 2021

Artist list

Barbara Amstutz, Isa Andersson, Julie Barbeau, Sylvia Bellia, Garcia Besteiro, Marian Bijlenga, Studio Biskt, Pernille Braun, Diana Butucariu, Rachael Colley, Giorgi Danibegashvili, Kristina Daukintyte Aas, Annemie De Corte, Mathieu Ducournau, Mieke Everaet, Veronika Fabian, Isabel Flores et Almudena Fernández Fariña, Ruth Gilmour, Tuva Gonsholt, Naama Haneman, Pierce Healy, Jennifer Hickey, Kari Hjertholm, Lai Ho, Esmé Hofman, Beate Leonards, James Lethbridge, Christoph Leuner, Louise Limontas, Karen Lise Krabbe, Christof Lungwitz, Hanna Miadzvedzeva, Kim Minhee, Fredrik Nielsen, Michèle Oberdieck, Olle Olls, Ruudt Peters, Anne Petters, Arpad Pulai, Inni Pärnänen, Loukia Richards, Martha Samyn, Flavien Servaes, Christophe Straube, Edu Tarin, Marie-Anne Thieffry, Sam Tho Duong, Clem Vanhee, Christoph Weisshaar, Lotte Westphael

From 12 December 2021 to 6 March 2022, a major exhibition bringing together some of the finest makers on the contemporary applied arts scene will be held at the Anciens Abattoirs in Mons. This fifth edition will showcase around one hundred unique pieces by 50 artists from 16 different European countries. Two prize-winners will each be awarded €3,500, thanks to the support of the World Craft Council Europe and the Ministry of Culture of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.
 
The exhibition aims to show some of the finest work produced in Europe, displaying a range of perfectly mastered techniques with high aesthetic standards. Ceramics, glass, metal, wood and papercrafts and contemporary jewellery, will all be represented. Besides the skills required to produce these creations, their contemporariness is an important element. Current makers are going beyond the traditional codes and thinking "outside the box". And why not use recycled plastic rather than gold? New materials and new techniques are being incorporated into the traditional recipes to create an art form that is both modern and ancient, codified and reactionary.
 
The exhibition design by Evelyne Gilmont is sober, practical, and unpretentious. The display stands and decoration are inspired by construction sites, with OSB beams, stencils and road sign blue, to suggest the idea of Work In Progress, evolution, modification, improvement and transmission.
 
And because the pandemic has reminded us that it is urgent to reconnect with creativity, hand-made and locally produced objects, the idea of "transmission" is the theme of the exhibition catalogue. Several texts on the subject of transmission, or passing down, in varying styles: free, literal, symbolic or poetic, some in critical essays format, will accompany the presentations of each creation in order to allow the reader to consider the work of art in a broader context.


Opening Hours: Tuesday - Sunday from 12 am to 18 pm, 25 Dec 21 and 1Jan 22 will close.
Award: 11th of December, Saturday.
Tarif : Guided tour on an appointment €3.