Nalini Malani wins Joan Miró Prize 2019

Indian contemporary artist Nalini Malani has won the Joan Miró Prize 2019, the Barcelona-based Fundacio Joan Miró has announced. One of the most prestigious contemporary art awards in the world, it recognises present-day work by artists who show the same spirit of exploration, innovation, commitment and freedom that characterised Spanish painter and sculptor Joan Miró's life and work. 

Malani, who is the winner of the seventh edition of the prize, was awarded for her impressive body of work that gave a voice to "the silenced and the dispossessed all over the world, most particularly women". 

"The jury considers the Indian artist worthy of the prize for her longstanding commitment to the values of radical imagination and socio-political awareness, also dear to Joan Miró," the jury said in a statement. 

It added that her complex artistic quest was based on immersive installations and a personal iconography where a profound knowledge of ancient mythologies converged with a bold condemnation of contemporary injustices. 

The award carries a cash prize of EUR 70,000, and the production cost of a monographic exhibition by the winning artist, to be held at the foundation in Spain. 

A pioneer in film, photography, installation, video art and performance, 73-year-old Malani was born in 1946 under the British Indian Empire and grew up between Kolkata and Mumbai, where her family sought exile after the Partition of India. 

From an article in The Economic Times (India)

The Joan Miró Prize is awarded every two years by the Fundació Joan Miró and Obra Social "la Caixa", in recognition of present-day work by artists who show the same spirit of exploration, innovation, commitment and freedom that characterised Joan Miró's life and work. First awarded in 2007, the prize is conferred by an international panel of judges made up of acclaimed professionals in the field of contemporary creation. "la Caixa" Foundation provides the cash prize of €70,000 and covers the cost of producing a monographic exhibition of the work by the winning artist, to be held at Fundació Joan Miró.