Alexis Blake wins the prestigious Dutch Art Prize Prix de Rome

This year’s Prix de Rome Visual Arts Prize is dedicated to Alexis Blake. She received the award and an associated amount of €40,000 on Tuesday afternoon in Amsterdam from outgoing Culture Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven. It is one of the most prestigious Dutch art awards.

Blake was born in 1981 in the United States. It combines visual art and performance, applying choreography, sound, video, sculpture and printmaking. The artist who lives in Amsterdam won her performance rock vibrating [ ] reeling to ashes.

Three others have been shortlisted for the prestigious Prix de Rome Art Prize, the oldest award in the Netherlands for plastic artists under the age of 40. They were Mercedes Azpilicueta, Silvia Martis and Coralie Vogellar.

The four selected were given a budget to create a new business within a five-month period. Based on this, the jury chose the final winner. All works can be viewed from November 13 to March 20 at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Alexis Blake will perform there several times.

Lamentation is an expression of mourning.

“For the Rome race, Blake indulged in lamentation as an expression of mourning. A topical topic, because people have lost so much to the pandemic,” according to the Mondrian organiser’s fund. “The jury was impressed by the detailed and unforgettable performance.”

Not only did Blake produce the performance, but he also created a room in the museum that was thought-provoking. All four candidates reflect the current time, says the Mondrian Fund.

“The jury appreciates the empathy shown by the finalists; sensitivity to the social, political and technological issues at stake.”