This past February, an international jury nominated Lamin Fofana, Calla Henkel & Max Pitegoff, Sandra Mujinga and Sung Tieu for the Preis der Nationalgalerie in 2021. In the “Shortlist” exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin the nominated artists address topics such as movement and migration, belonging and alienation, self-perception and external perceptions of the self, shifting logics of public and private space, as well as the potential of sound and music to act as a social force. The exhibition shows both new and earlier works.

The artists on the shortlist were nominated by Adam Budak (director, Kestner Gesellschaft, Hanover), Andrea Lissoni (artistic director, Haus der Kunst, Munich), Zoé Whitley (director, Chisenhale Gallery, London) and Franciska Zólyom (director and curator, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig).

The Preis der Nationalgalerie is a museum prize awarded every two years in support and recognition of outstanding work by artists under 40 who live in Germany. The award consists of a solo exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin during the course of 2022, accompanied by a publication.

Jury and Award

An international jury chose the prizewinner on 7 October 2021: Sandra Mujinga (b. 1989 in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo). The jury consisted of: Emre Baykal (Exhibitions Director and Curator, Arter, Istanbul), Sven Beckstette (Curator, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin), Gabriele Knapstein (Director, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin), Emma Lavigne (President, Palais de Tokyo, Paris) and Yesomi Umolu (Director of Curatorial Affairs and Public Practice, Serpentine, London).

A special exhibition of the Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

The exhibition is made possible by the Freunde der Nationalgalerie and supported by BMW.