Annika Thiems is the winner of the 2019 NEON Curatorial Award for her proposal, On Air On Water.

Of the winning proposal the judging panel commented: “Annika Thiems’s proposal On Air, On Water is innovative and to the point; it has a strong conceptual basis and the idea is excellently articulated in practice. Her proposal is grounded on the work Continentals (2008), a large sculptural piece formed from a basin filled with cloudy water with smaller empty basins floating within it, by Rivane Neuenschwander in the D.Daskalopoulos Collection. In addition, it utilises an existing economy of a broadcast network, which is financially smart and extends the reach of the project by making it accessible well beyond the site. Annika chooses both material and immaterial ways to address a post-national condition and cultural identities in flux. The water provides a strong metaphor for this and the work Continentals is ideal to initiate such conversations. These dialogues, which are in the form of radio broadcasts transmitted from the independent project space Radio Athènes in Athens, are produced through residencies and give great possibility for further expansion and outreach”

The award was established in 2012 to champion curatorial excellence, and is part of an ongoing partnership between the Whitechapel Gallery and NEON. Building links between emerging curators in London and across Greece, the prize celebrates the exchange of ideas and innovations in the presentation of contemporary art.

The judging panel for the 2019 NEON Curatorial Award are: Adelaide Bannerman, Curator at Tiwani Contemporary and Producer for International Curators Forum, London; Galini Notti, independent curator (Athens, Greece); Catherine Wood, Senior Curator of International Art (Performance) at Tate Modern; chaired by Dr. Nayia Yiakoumaki, Curator Archive Gallery, Head of Curatorial Studies and Project Manager of NEON Curatorial Exchange & Award.