Artes Mundi facts for kids

Artes Mundi (which means "arts of the world" in Latin) is an international art group based in Cardiff, Wales. It started in 2002. This group supports modern artists from all over the world. Their art often explores real-life issues and people's experiences. Every two years, Artes Mundi holds a big exhibition and gives out a special prize. They also run learning programs for the public.

About Artes Mundi

Artes Mundi was created in 2002 by a Welsh artist named William Wilkins. He had help from the Welsh government and other groups like Arts Council Wales. The main idea was to bring amazing international art to Wales. The Artes Mundi Prize and its exhibition happen in Cardiff every two years. The name "Artes Mundi" means "arts of the world," showing that the group focuses on artists whose work deals with real-world topics.

Since 2003, the Artes Mundi art prize has been held every two years at the National Museum Cardiff. Since 2014/15, the exhibition has grown to include other places too. This prize is the biggest art prize in the United Kingdom. The winner receives £40,000. Even though the exhibition is in Cardiff, it focuses on artists from all over the world.

How Artes Mundi Is Funded

Artes Mundi is a non-profit charity. This means it doesn't aim to make money. It gets public funding from Arts Council Wales and also from Cardiff City Council. Most of its other money comes from the Welsh government, special foundations, and donations from people and companies.

The Bagri Foundation was a main partner for Artes Mundi 10 (in 2023) and Artes Mundi 11 (in 2025). This was the Foundation's first big partnership in the UK outside of London.

Who Leads Artes Mundi

Over the years, several people have led Artes Mundi. Tessa Jackson was the first Artistic Director and CEO. Later, Ben Borthwick took over in 2010. In 2013, Karen MacKinnon became the director. Since 2019, Nigel Prince has been the Director of Artes Mundi.

Past Prize Winners

Here are the artists who have won the Artes Mundi Prize:

• 2004 (Artes Mundi 1): Xu Bing from China
• 2006 (Artes Mundi 2): Eija-Liisa Ahtila from Finland
• 2008 (Artes Mundi 3): N. S. Harsha from India
• 2010 (Artes Mundi 4): Yael Bartana from Israel
• 2012 (Artes Mundi 5): Teresa Margolles from Mexico
• 2015 (Artes Mundi 6): Theaster Gates from the USA. He decided to share his £40,000 prize with the other artists who were nominated.
• 2017 (Artes Mundi 7): John Akomfrah from the UK
• 2019 (Artes Mundi 8): Apichatpong Weerasethakul from Thailand
• 2021 (Artes Mundi 9): All six artists who were nominated won the prize! They each received £10,000. The winners were Firelei Báez (Dominican Republic), Dineo Seshee Bopape (South Africa), Meiro Koizumi (Japan), Beatriz Santiago Muñoz (Puerto Rico), Prabhakar Pachpute (India), and Carrie Mae Weems (USA).

See also

In Spanish: Artes Mundi para niños

• List of European art awards