Njideka Akunyili Crosby wins 2016 Prix Canson art competition

Daughter of Nigeria’s former information minister, Late Dr. Mrs Dora Akunyili - Njideka Akunyili Crosby has emerged winner of the sixth edition of the Prix Canson Prize in a ceremony held at New York’s Drawing Center.

The Prix Canson Prize is an award which recognizes achievements of international artists who work with paper as their principal medium.

Njideka will receive over $11,000 of Canson paper and an invitation to be part of a residency that was established by artist and former president of the jury, Tunga, who recently passed, according to artforum.com

The Los Angeles–based artist is known for making intimate paintings on paper by intricately collaging together photographs transferred to paper with patches acrylic, charcoal, and other materials.
An exhibition of the works of her as well as the four finalists (Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze, Bethany Collins, David Shrigley, and Lucy Skaer) will be on view until July 1.

Established in 2010, the Prix Canson Award celebrates the legacy of the sixteenth-century paper company Canson, which has been supplying aritsts such as Ingres, Delacroix, and Van Gogh, among others, for generations.