We are pleased to announce the Winner Drenthe Contemporary Award: ELENA KHURTOVA

The jury was impressed with the variety of applications for this first edition of the Drenthe Contemporary Award, involving both Drenthe-based artists as well as artists from the wider context who have established a dialogue with Drenthe through their work.

Considering various strong candidates, the jury unanimously chose Elena Khurtova, because of her specific proposition. Khurtova’s practice engages in dynamic interaction with the world around us, by exploring our ability to create reciprocal relationships with the soil beneath our feet. Thus, her work revolves around care in ways beyond the obvious. The jury was convinced by her proposal to realise a site-specific version of her Soil Works series through a collaboration with the Meppel soil bank (Meppel grondbank).

Khurtova’s work is both conceptually and visually strong, combining sculptural, photographic and performative elements with a process-based approach, as she invites other people as well as more-than-human processes to become part of the making of work. In her proposition, the jury saw a lot of potential for Khurtova to reach out to people around Kolderveen, allowing audiences to relate to the project not only through viewing but through multiple senses. Her exhibition will not be an endpoint but a meeting point, and the work made with local soil will not be static, as the soil is a living archive of the region.

The jury was comprised of Anke Bangma, Hilde de Bruijn, Clare Molloy.

The exhibition and award ceremony will take place 6 December in Kunstwerk Kolderveen, until 1 February. For more information see HERE.