Press Release: CIRCA announces winner of the CIRCA PRIZE 2024
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(Piccadilly Circus, London) 2 October, CIRCA 20:24 ➳ Continuing its mission to invest in the future of art and culture, CIRCA is proud to announce Bernice Mulenga as the winner of the CIRCA PRIZE 2024 – a global initiative spotlighting the next generation of creative visionaries.
Selected by a prestigious jury featuring Marina Abramović, Lisa Anderson, Nicoletta Fiorucci, Michèle Lamy, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Josef O’Connor, Kembra Pfahler, Sir Norman Rosenthal, Slawn, Nadya Tolokonnikova and Ai Weiwei; Mulenga’s work captures the spirit of this year’s manifesto ‘<<Break Free>> Time’s Arrow Flies Forever Forward’ with an unflinching exploration of the dancefloor as the ultimate space for freedom and community.
Bernice is a British-Congolese photographer whose work focuses on exploring intimacy and the experiences of the global and local Black queer community. Their ongoing series, #friendsonfilm presents a raw and intimate body of work that documents the vibrancy and resilience of their community over the past decade. Their practice emphasises the importance of collective spaces, such as the dancefloor, as vital realms for freedom. In a time of increasing polarisation, few places allow communities to gather without restriction—spaces where identities on the margins can fully express themselves, creating a temporary utopia through dance. As Bernice beautifully puts it:
My work embodies freedom, it embodies going against the rules. To be Black, Queer, and Trans is always to be free, even when others don’t want us to be. We stand strong and interrupt what is expected of us. Through dancefloors, I’ve seen where we shape this—a small hole that, somehow, even around the globe, we all share. The dancefloor is not always a club, but the hallway at work, the beach, the garden of my friends—you name it! I’m forever in awe of my people. This work is a portrait of my community and self, as one.
In awarding Mulenga the CIRCA PRIZE 2024, the jury recognised their work as a profound celebration of the freedom to exist beyond boundaries — an essential response to the manifesto’s call to envision new futures and to ‘break free’. Mulenga’s ambition to expand their project into a longer film documenting dance floors across the globe with a focus on Black Queer and Trans experiences, will be made possible through the prize. Remaining true to Mulenga’s DIY roots, the artist hopes to fuse documentary and real-life footage shot on night vision, while incorporating both intimate and sweeping narratives of joy, resilience, and identity.
Josef O’Connor, Artistic Director at CIRCA said ➳
At CIRCA, we often say that culture begins on the dancefloor, and these vital spaces are at risk of being lost due to the alienating impact of social media, inner-city development and escalating rents, amongst other factors. Art should challenge us to choose the unexpected, to step beyond the familiar or comfortable, and inspire us to reshape how we see the world. Bernice’s submission perfectly embodies this spirit. It expresses the role of CIRCA as a platform for ideas—ideas that may divide opinion and be conveyed through digital media but are not limited by it. Ideas that ultimately go beyond the screen. It celebrates the lived experience and prompts
us to reflect on the spaces where freedom can thrive.
Now in its fourth consecutive year, the CIRCA PRIZE 2024 unearthed over 1,700 applications from 20 countries, with 30 finalists selected by Vittoria de Franchis, curator at CIRCA and the CURATORS CIRCLE composed by Attilia Fattori Franchini, Mohamed Almusibli, Kostas Stasinopoulos, Sohyeon Park, Sydney Fishman including Alice Bucknell, Bhenji Ra, Camille Henrot, Christelle Oyiri-K, Gabriel Massan, Bernice Mulenga, Jazz Grant, Joshua Antiporda Serafin, Marianna Simnett, Oliver Beer, Sara Cwynar, and Yumna Al- Arashi.
After a month of anticipation and more than 15,000 online votes, Jonas Brinker received the £10,000 public prize powered by Piccadilly Lights for [Untitled] (25.07.24, 02:14AM) – a poignant yet subtle exploration of our impact on non-human freedom through the closeup of a dragonfly illuminated by Times Square’s flickering lights.
The CIRCA PRIZE has provided a crucial platform for emerging artists, with Mulenga joining past winners Joseph Wilson (2021), Mary Martins (2022), and Cemile Sahin (2023). Aiming to empower the next generation of creative visionaries, the prize offers a platform for emerging voices at a time when arts funding is in sharp decline. Funded through the sale of #CIRCAECONOMY prints, the prize provides a vital injection of support to those seeking to reimagine the future of art and culture.
NOTES TO EDITORS
ABOUT CIRCA
CIRCA is a forward-thinking platform that showcases innovative and impactful contemporary art. Through collaborations with leading artists and cultural institutions, CIRCA presents meaningful culture in public spaces that reflect our living times (CIRCA 20:20, 21, 22, 23, 24..) and sparks dialogue, making art accessible and relevant to a global audience. Funds generated from artist editions enable the #CIRCAECONOMY – a circular model that supports the CIRCA free public art programme while creating life-changing opportunities for a global creative community. Since launching in October 2020 on London’s Piccadilly Lights, CIRCA has distributed over £1,000,000 in cash grants, scholarships, donations and commissions.
Previous CIRCA-commissioned artists include Ai Weiwei, Cauleen Smith, Eddie Peake, Anne Imhof, Patti Smith, Tony Cokes, Emma Talbot, Alvaro Barrington, Vivienne Westwood, Yoko Ono, Marina Abramović, David Hockney, Cassandra Press, Shirin Neshat, Frank Bowling, Kembra Pfahler, Fiona Banner, and more. (circa.art)
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