Proud of our artists Rory Pilgrim & Esiri Erheriene-Essi!

The Art Foundation is proud to announce that one of our artists, currently part of the ‘Common Ground 2: Connect in Color’ exhibition in our Art Space, Rory Pilgrim (1988, United Kingdom) received the prestigious and renowned Prix de Rome Visual Arts 2019! The award was given by the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Ingrid van Engelshoven, in the presence of Queen Máxima. Pilgrim received the award for his new film The Undercurrent (2019-ongoing), that follows a group of young American climate activists, addressing topical issues of climate change, sustainability, gender inequality and homelessness. The award comes with a 40,000 Euros cash prize and a work period at the American Academy in Rome. The AkzoNobel Art Foundation has continuously been an early adaptor that discovers and follows talents in an early stage, as one of the other nominees for this year’s Prix de Rome was Esiri Erheriene-Essi, also one of the artists in our collection. In her work, she addresses diversity, political and social events in relation to everyday lives of black people. Both artists thrive in their work and their level of commitment and will be on show at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.