Artes Mundi and their presenting partner, the Bagri Foundation, have awarded the biennial Artes Mundi 11 prize to Antonio Paucar. The artist will receive £40,000.
Born in Huancayo, Peru, and based between Berlin and Huancayo, Antonio Paucar draws from Andean culture to tackle contemporary conflicts, the assassination of indigenous leaders, environmental threats and surveillance technology. His work spans performance, sculpture and video. For Artes Mundi 11, he presented a series of interrelated sculptures, installations and performance videos, including La Energía Espiral del AYNI (2023–25), a largescale hand-woven alpaca wool spiral accompanied by a video of the work’s making, and Voltereta Sobre la Tierra de Llandudno (2025), clay footprints on the floor and wall of the gallery resulting from a filmed performance of the artist doing a handstand shown on a nearby screen.
‘It is profoundly meaningful to receive this award’, said Paucar in a statement. ‘Over the last few years, I began restoring the abandoned adobe house of my grandparents. It is important to me to safe-guard the house and workshop of my ancestors. It seems equally appropriate to me that this space be transformed into a small, independent art school, given that the nearest and largest city, Huancayo, does not have an art school nor a museum of art. With the support of the Artes Mundi 11 prize, I will continue concretising and making the aforementioned projects a reality – projects where the social, the communal, and the political will take shape together from the need to revalue and empower the knowledge of my community and rescue its arts as a true art form.’
Paucar was selected from a shortlist which also included Jumana Emil Abboud, Anawana Haloba, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Sancintya Mohini Simpson and Sawangwongse Yawnghwe. Each of their work is presented in solo exhibitions in various locations across Wales.
A solo presentation of Antonio Paucar’s work is on view as part of Artes Mundi 11 at Mostyn, Llandudno, through 21 February.
The work of all shortlisted artists is on view at the National Museum Cardiff through 1 March.
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