Goethe-Institut announces the winner of the 2024 Henrike Grohs Art Award
Kitso Lynn Lelliott is the winner of the 2024 Henrike Grohs Art Award. Wambui Kamiru Collymore and Frederick Ebenezer Okai were also announced as the runners-up.
The Goethe-Institut has announced the winner of the 2024 Henrike Grohs Art Award, a biennial art prize conceived by the Goethe-Institut and the Grohs family in memory of the former Head of Goethe-Institut in Abidjan, Henrike Grohs.
Last November, The Creatives Notes reported the 21 shortlisted artists for the 2024 edition of the Award. According to the announcement, the 21 shortlisted artists were selected from a pool of 690 applications from 40 countries across the African continent.
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Following further consideration of the top 21 finalists by its jury (made up of Marie Helene Pereira, Meriem Berrada and Tandazani Dhlakama), it has announced Kitso Lynn Lelliott as the winner of the 2024 Henrike Grohs Art Award.
Botswana-born Johannesburg-based Kitso Lynn Lelliott, whose practice moves between video installation, film and writing, is the 4th winner of the Henrike Grohs Art Award. She will receive a 20 000€ cash prize and 10 000€ towards a publication of her work, according to the announcement.
“Kitso’s work, in particular, resonated with us for its articulation of disobedience and disruption. There is a firm affirmation of the necessity to look beyond traditional references to colonial powers,” the 2024 Jury remarked.
“Notably, in considering Kitso’s work, we view it not as a final achievement but as a constant state of becoming—a metaphor for the artist herself. Kitso embodies a perpetual reinvention, eschewing the notion of a finished work in favour of one that exists and re-exists, signifying a continuous and evolving artistic journey.”
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Kenyan artist Wambui Kamiru Collymore and Ghanaian artist Frederick Ebenezer Okai were also announced as the runners-up of the 2024 Henrike Grohs Art Award. Per the Award, the two artists will receive a cash prize of 5.000€ each.
“I sincerely congratulate the main winner Kitso Lynn Lelliott from Botswana, who has captured the hearts and minds of our esteemed jury members with exceptional talent and creativity, and the two deserving runners-up Wambui Kamiru Collymore from Kenya and Frederick Ebenezer Okai from Ghana,” Johannes Ebert, Secretary General of the Goethe-Institut, shared.
“The Henrike Grohs Art Prize, in honour of its namesake, promotes the principles and values of international cultural exchange as understood by the Goethe-Institut and stands as a beacon for the recognition and support of outstanding artistic talent. For the fourth edition of the award, 690 applications from 40 African countries have been submitted, more than ever before.”
Past winners of the Henrike Grohs Art Award winners are Gladys Kalichini, Zambia (2022), Jackie Karuti, Kenya (2020) and Em'kal Eyongakpa, Cameroon (2018).
