Geneva and Barcelona. Dutch artist Rosa Menkman has been selected as the winner of the first Collide International award in Barcelona alongside four Honorary Mentions. The residency award, organised by Arts at CERN in partnership with the City of Barcelona and the Institute of Culture of Barcelona, received 228 entries from 49 countries.
“The primary objective of Arts at CERN is to create extraordinary opportunities for dialogue and exchange between artists and scientists, and to encourage significant connections between creative minds in a fundamental research environment. I am particularly proud to announce the winners of the first Collide International prize in collaboration with the city of Barcelona,” says Monica Bello, head of Arts at CERN.
“Here at CERN, we value diversity and exchange, across communities and countries. It is an inherent part of our laboratory’s culture and essential to the success of our research. We appreciate the strong partnerships that now allow us to welcome new artists to connect with our community. I am excited to see what they will achieve together with our scientists,” says Charlotte Lindberg Warakaulle, CERN’s Director for International Relations.
According to the jury, comprised of Monica Bello, Arts at CERN, Oriol Gual, director of La Capella in Barcelona, Joana Hurtado, director of Fabra i Coats and Helga Timko, CERN physicist, the winning artist demonstrated a sophistication of concept and approach. Menkman’s topic focused on the idea of resolution, which resonates with CERN’s quest to perform research from the smallest to the largest scale. They found Menkman’s argument about the significance and purpose of scientific measurement and how information is filtered in and out of an experiment inspiring. The artist will be invited to CERN in Geneva for two months to explore these topics, after which she will work for a month on a 3D video production at Fabra i Coats.
“Barcelona City Council has the will to make the city a European capital in research and innovation through its Barcelona Science Plan. We have initiated several measures, which makes me particularly enthusiastic about the collaboration established with CERN, an alliance that will allow us to bring art and science to the citizens. I would like to congratulate all those who participated in this first edition in our city, especially Rosa Menkman, whom we will receive during her stay in Barcelona at Fabra i Coats – Art Factory and Barcelona’s Centre for Contemporary Art,” says Joan Subirats, Barcelona's Deputy Mayor of Culture, Education and Science.
The Honorary Mentions are: Samoa Rémy from Switzerland, Addie Wagenknecht from Austria, Nathan Witt from the UK, and Barcelona-based artist Gabriella Torres from Puerto Rico. Their work presented abstract phenomena in tangible forms while demonstrating their ability to question and analyse the deeper meaning of physical observations.
Collide International is Arts at CERN’s flagship programme and residency award, organised every three years in partnership with a city and a cultural organisation. The collaboration with Barcelona began with this first award and will continue until 2021.
Further information: