In 2023, the Antwerp Art Graduation Prize was awarded for the first time. With this prize, Antwerp Art seeks to support the development of young artists not yet associated with any organisation. Every year, two students with a master’s degree in fine arts are selected based on their graduation projects: one from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (KASKA) and one from Sint Lucas Antwerp (SLA). The Graduation Prize consists of a cash prize and an exhibition of new work during Antwerp Art Weekend. The 2023 laureates exhibiting their work this year are Jiyoung Kim (KASKA) and Susanna Ingignoli (SLA).

Susanna Ingignoli work 'Concrete Spaces' explores the public space of cities and the way in which these cities implicitly impose rules on their users. Her latest work, centred on Antwerp’s Mechelseplein, examines the tensions, boundaries and changes of this public space, which are becoming increasingly palpable. Through her practice, she questions the privatisation of public space and the conditions under which the individual is entitled to a place within it.

As a multidisciplinary artist, Susanna Ingignoli (1998, IT/BE) enjoys exploring the interplay between physical and digital mediums, merging them to convey specific messages. She is particularly drawn to social dynamics and the intricate relationships between individuals and urban environments. Through her work, she aims to offer alternative perspectives on public spaces, often revealing their inherent contradictions and the subtle boundaries they impose on our experiences.

Find Susanna Ingignoli's new work 'Concrete Spaces' at Kunsthal Extra City.

Kunsthal Extra City
Provinciestraat 112,
2018 Antwerp

Jiyoung Kim's work 'Weight Room' presents a reinterpretation of the weigh house, a space that symbolised trade, the economy and the valuation of goods in medieval Europe. Her research explores concepts such as value and weight and their associated symbolism. The result is a new systemfor measuring weight that is based on the body of the artist, a measuring system that concerns the weighing of things against one another. In this way, Jiyoung Kim reflects on our interrelationships.

The work of Jiyoung Kim (1994, KR/BE) revolves around an interest in the written word and symbolic imaginaries, converging in a search for an individual language. Her work is often informed by her cultural background and history as a tailor, resulting in a sensitivity to working with bodies, as well as an interest in systems of measurement and reference that arise from the individual into the universal. Her work describes one’s personal space to embody a standard, a unit for communicating spatial information.

Find Jiyoung Kim's new work 'Weight Room' at the museum square of KMSKA.

KMSKA Museum Qsuare
Leopold De Waelplaats,
2000 Antwerp

The Antwerp Art Graduation Prize exhibition, and the production of both artists' new work is made possible by the 'Fonds voor Nieuwe Makers' (Fund for New Makers) of the city of Antwerp.

Antwerp Art would like to thank Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Base-Alpha Gallery, Coppejans Gallery, De Zwarte Panter, De Wael 15, DMW Gallery, Frans Masereel Centrum, Gallery FIFTY ONE, Gallery FIFTY ONE TOO, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, KETELEER GALLERY, M HKA, MORPHO, Newchild, Pizza Gallery, PLUS-ONE Gallery, PONTI, Shoobil Gallery, and Zeno X Gallery for their contribution to the prize money, and commitment during the selection procedure. We would also like to thank Kunsthal Extra City and KMSKA for generously hosting these presentations.