Artist Jelili Atiku has said he is happy to have emerged one of this year’s Prince Claus Laureate.
“As one of the recipients of the award, I feel very happy that I won the award. More importantly, I feel proud of my culture, the achievement of Yoruba progenitors and all the people who have contributed to the creative energy of the race, Yoruba and all others tribes in Africa,” he told TheNiche.
The performance artist was announced on September 3 as being among the artists chosen from all over the world by the Prince Claus Awards Committee as this year’s Prince Claus the laureates.
The Principal Prince Claus Award for this year goes to Newsha Tavakolian, an Iranian photographer. As part of the award, the Prince Claus Fund Gallery in Amsterdam will exhibit her works from November 27, 2015 to March 4, 2016.
A statement from the organisers of the Amsterdam-based annual award said that on December 2, HRH Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands will present the Principal Prince Claus Award to Tavakolian.
“The Prince Claus Fund honours 10 additional artists and cultural role models for their pioneering work in culture and development. The independent international members of the Prince Claus Awards Committee select the Prince Claus laureates,” the statement explained.
All 2015 Laureates will receive their award at a ceremony held in the presence of members of the Dutch Royal Family at the Royal Palace Amsterdam on December 2.
Born in 1968, Jelili Atiku is a Nigerian performance artist. A pioneer of contemporary performance art in Nigeria, he has developed an innovative fusion of Yoruba and international performance practices. Taking to the streets of Lagos or taking over specific sites with his striking costumes and dynamic presentations, he provokes community dialogue and debate on local, national and global issues.
The other laureates listed alongside the Nigerian are: Latif Al-Ani, a photographer from Iraq born in 1932; Amakhosi, a Zimbabwean in theatre and cultural organisation born 1980; Jean-Pierre Bekolo, a Cameroonian filmmaker born in 1966; and the performance artist, Grupo Etcetera from Argentina/Chile, born in 1997.
Others are, from China, the musician and singer/songwriter, Perhat Khaliq (1982); Fatos Lubonja (1951) writer, editor and public intellectual from Albania; Ossama Mohammed (1954), a filmmaker from Syria; Oksana Shatalova (1972), a visual artist, critic and curator from Kazakhstan; Y’en a Marre (2011), a collective of hip-hop musicians and journalists from Senegal.
The Prince Claus Awards honour outstanding achievements in the field of culture and development. The awards are presented annually to individuals, groups and organisations whose cultural actions have a positive impact on the development of their societies.
The Prince Claus Fund has supported freedom of cultural expression worldwide for 19 years.