The award was created this year and aims to recognize individuals or organizations that use arts and culture as tools to address critical social issues and inspire positive change.
Kia Henda was unanimously chosen from 160 nominees from around the world by a jury comprised of artists, historians, curators and art collectors including Heba Y. Amin, Dimitris Daskalopoulos, Sandra Jackson-Dumont, Jeff Koons, Sebabatso Manoeli and Simon Njami, Adama Sanneh and Kim Conniff Taber
The Luanda-born multimedia artist's work is marked by history, politics and war, as well as the impact of colonialism on Angola's history, addressing themes of marginalization, establishing connections with the struggles of migrants and refugees and Africans in the diaspora “who fight against cultural fragmentation, systemic racism and the lasting legacies of colonialism”.
Kia Henda co-founded “Fuckin’ Globo”, a platform that brought together emerging and established artists occupying rooms in the former Hotel Globo in downtown Luanda, and co-founded KinoYetu, an association that promotes practical learning of film and visual arts in Angola.
The awards ceremony took place on Tuesday at the Palazzo Reale in Milan, as part of the Art for Tomorrow conference.
The Democracy and Culture Foundation (DCF) is an organization dedicated to strengthening democracy through civic engagement and the promotion of culture as an expression of freedom.
Its two flagship events, the Athens Democracy Forum in association with The New York Times, and Art for Tomorrow, take place annually and aim to foster collaboration between prominent and emerging voices in democracy and culture.
The Moleskine Foundation is a Milan-based organization that seeks to promote creativity as a tool for social transformation. In 2021, he launched the Creativity Pioneers Fund, a philanthropic fund to support cultural and creative organizations overlooked by traditional support that has already awarded awards to 150 organizations in 40 countries.
The award consists of a cash prize of 10,000 euros and the possibility to co-curate a panel at the Art for Tomorrow conference, organized annually by the Democracy & Culture Foundation, also joining the Creativity Pioneers community.
