Connecting people through art 

Tekla Aslanishvili (b. Georgia, 1988), is the recipient of the Han Nefkens Foundation - Fundació Antoni Tàpies Video Art Production Award 2020.

The Award recognises Tekla Aslanishvili's body of meticulously researched work and her commitment to exploring a specific geopolitical context, whilst connecting to a wider discourse on the impact of extractivist economies on a planetary scale. The jury is enthusiastic about the potential for development and progression in her unique and committed artistic language.

Established by the Han Nefkens Foundation in collaboration with the Fundació Antoni Tàpies, this award aims to increase contemporary artistic production in the field of video art by appraising the work of emerging artists aged 35 and under, who live in West or Central Asia and who have established a solid trajectory but not yet received recognition by important international art institutions.

Tekla Aslanishvili will receive $15,000 from the Han Nefkens Foundation to support the production of a new, limited edition video. One of the editions of this video will be a donation to the Foundation and will be exhibited internationally by the five collaborating institutions: the Fundació Antoni Tàpies in Barcelona; the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore; WIELS in Brussels; the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design in Manila, and Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai.

The winner has been selected by a judging panel chaired by Han Nefkens, Founder of the Han Nefkens Foundation; Carles Guerra, representing the Fundació Antoni Tàpies; Ute Meta Bauer, Founding Director of the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art; Dirk Snauwaert, Director of WIELS; Joselina Cruz, Director/Curator at Museum of Contemporary Art and Design and Nora Razian, Head of Exhibitions at Jameel Arts Centre, in the presence of Hilde Teerlinck, Director of the Han Nefkens Foundation; Alessandra Biscaro, Coordinator of the Han Nefkens Foundation; Zoë Gray: Senior Curator of WIELS and Karin Oen, Deputy Director, Curatorial Programmes at NTU Centre for Contemporary Art.

Tekla Aslanishvili is an artist, filmmaker and essayist based between Berlin and Tbilisi. Her work focuses on new forms of algorithmic governance and their impact on urban spaces and their subjects. She characterises her artistic practice by an interdisciplinary collaboration with other knowledge and culture producers. The sharing of expertise and perspectives allows her to zoom out from specific geographical and temporal contexts and examine local events from a distance.

Tekla Aslanishvili graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 2009 and she holds a MFA from the Berlin University of the Arts - the department of the Experimental Film and New Media Art. Aslanishvilis's work has been screened and exhibited internationally at the Tbilisi Architecture Biennial, Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Kunstverein Leipzig, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, Ashkal Alwan, Beirut, VISIO – European Programme on Artists' Moving Images, Florence, Pylon Lab, Dresden, 20. International Film Symposium, Bremen. She is a 2018–2019 Digital Earth Fellow and most recently a nominee for ars-viva Prize 2021.

The shortlisted artists for the Han Nefkens Foundation – Fundació Antoni Tàpies Video Art Production Award 2020 were: Abdullah Al-Mutairi (1990, Kuwait/USA), Alaa Mansour (1989, Lebanon), Alia Farid (1985, Kuwait/USA), Ana Gzirishvili (1992, Georgia), Aykan Safoğlu (1984, Turkey/Germany), Bahar Noorizadeh (1988, Iran), Farhad Farzali (1989, Azerbaijan), Karam Ghossein (1987, Lebanon), Mohammed Alfaraj (1993, Saudi Arabia), Nour Ouayda (1991, Lebanon), Omar Mismar (1986, Lebanon) and Tekla Aslanishvili (1988, Georgia).

The initial candidates for the Han Nefkens Foundation – Fundació Antoni Tàpies Video Art Production Award 2020 were selected by Ala Younis (Kuwait/Jordania), Ana Gabelaia (Georgia), Christine Tohmè (Lebanon), Edwin Nasr (Lebanon), Ellen Kapanadze (Georgia), Inga Lāce (Latvia), Melissa Gronlund (UAE), Omar Kholeif (Egypt), Rasha Salti (Lebanon/Germany), Ruba Katrib (Syria/USA) and Till Fellrath (Germany).