Shizuko Yoshikawa Award – Supporting Young Women* Artists

The Shizuko Yoshikawa Art Prize will be awarded for the fourth time to a young woman* artist in 2024

The Shizuko Yoshikawa Art Prize – Supporting Young Female* Artists
In 2018 the Shizuko Yoshikawa and Josef Müller Brockmann Foundation in Zurich established this Art Prize, endowed with CHF 25,000, specifically for young female* artists. The prize is awarded to female* graduates with a Master’s in Fine Arts from a Swiss art school. The course directors nominate the candidates. The prize is awarded every two years. By organizing an award for young female* artists, the Foundation is responding to Shizuko Yoshikawa’s wish to facilitate the initial phase of an artistic career for women* and to encourage them to make their way in the art world.

Procedure
For the fourth time, the heads of master’s programs at Swiss art schools will nominate three to five female* graduates who have completed their degree within the last five years. Each of the artists nominated submits a portfolio that provides an overview of their work. The jury picks five candidates in a first preliminary selection round.
The shortlisted candidates will be invited to present their work in a second round in Zurich. The jury takes its final decision on the basis of these presentations.

Criteria
The nominees’ artistic practice may be manifested in any medium and does not necessarily have to draw on or be rooted in the traditions of Concrete Art or Constructivism. The Foundation reserves the right to adapt its criteria in the future. There is no requirement for the selected artists to hold Swiss citizenship, but they should have completed a master’s degree at a Swiss art school and currently be based in Switzerland. That ensures their work can develop an impact on the Swiss artistic landscape.

Jury
The jury consists of members of the Foundation Board of Trustees and two additional guest experts. In 2024 the jury members are:

Kathrin Bentele (Director Kunstverein Düsseldorf, guest expert)
Andrea Wolfensberger (artist, CH, guest expert)
Elisabeth Grossmann (art historian, member of the board of trustees)
Sibylle Loyrette (lawyer, specialized in art law, member of the board of trustees)
Gabrielle Schaad (art historian, jury president, member of the board of trustees)

Nominating Universities

FHNW – Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst, Basel
HEAD – Haute école d’art et de design, Geneva
HKB – Hochschule der Künste Bern
ECAL – Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne
HSLU – Hochschule Luzern, Departement Design & Kunst, Luzern
ÉDHÉA – École de design et Haute école d’art du Valais, Sierre
ZHdK – Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, Departement Fine Arts, Zurich