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Opportunities To Look Out For In 2025 

The early bird catches the worm. We’ve compiled a list of opportunities that you should consider applying for in the new year. So, get your CVs and portfolios ready! 

Akaa Fair Paris 2024. Courtesy of Artribune.

KUENYEHIA PRIZE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART

Deadline: January 31, 2025

Established in 2014 by Ghanaian professor and Art connoisseur, Elikem Nutifafa Kuenyehia, the Kuenyehia Prize is a not-for-profit organization established to support African artists. Since its inception, the Trust’s Kuenyehia Prize for Contemporary Art (the’ Kuenyehia Prize’) has invested and contributed to advancing contemporary African art through its support of emerging and mid-career artists living in West Africa. The 2024 Kuenyehia Prize money sums up to $10,000 and will be awarded amongst the finalists, in which the winner will receive $5,000, while the first runner-up and second runner-up will receive $3,000 and $2,000 respectively. All shortlisted artists will benefit from the Trust’s Creative Accelerator Programme and show their works in a month-long exhibition. This year, they lowered the age to participation from 25 to 18, and now visual artists between the ages of 18 and 40 from and living in West Africa can apply. 

Joseph Kojo Hoggar, winner of the 2023 Kuenyehia Prize for Contemporary Art. Courtesy of The Accra Times.

THE ELLIPSE PRIZE 2025

Deadline: March 3, 2025

Themed Butterfly Effect, the fifth edition of the ellipse prize is dedicated to African artists living in Ghana and to Ghanaian artists living in the African continent. The ellipse prize, launched in 2021, is an itinerant visual art competition highlighting emerging artists from a different territory each year. In 2025, the endowment fund continues its journey along the West African coast, dedicating the fifth edition of the prize to Ghana’s emerging art scene. An independent jury composed of contemporary art professionals, notably linked to the Ghanaian scene, will be formed to select the final 5, including the winner. The finalists will announced in March and the winner in May. The winner will benefit from a production grant and their works will be shown in a solo exhibition in France during the AKAA – Also Known As Africa fair, which will be held in Paris from October 24 to 26, 2025. In addition, the winner will receive a 360-degree communication campaign and professional support. 

Installation view of Incertitudes, a solo exhibition by Nobel Koty, 2024 winner of the ellipse prize. Courtesy of ellipse prize.

ACCESS ART X PRIZE

Deadline: To be announced

The Access ART X Prize is an annual award for emerging artists in Africa and its Diaspora. The prize awards early-career artists from Africa and its diaspora opportunities to develop their practices, to set them up for the highest levels of success on the global stage. Formerly only open to emerging Nigerian artists, in 2022 the Prize evolved to include an additional award for exceptional emerging artists from all of Africa and its diaspora. The Nigerian winner will be awarded a $10,000 grant and a 3-month artist’s residency at Gasworks, London. The African/Diasporan winner will also be awarded a $10,000 grant and a 3-month residency at Yinka Shonibare’s GAS Foundation, Lagos. The award is to enable them to complete compelling, ambitious projects that will be exhibited at ART X Lagos. 

CAP PRIZE 2026

Deadline: To be announced

The Contemporary African Photography Prize is awarded annually to five photographers whose works were created on the African continent or who engage with the African diaspora. The competition is open to everyone of all levels and any age or descent. African photography, according to the CAP Prize, is photography created on the African continent or engaging with the African diaspora throughout two generations or less. Applications will be reviewed by an international panel of curators, publishers, editors, and artists. 25 artists will be shortlisted, and only 5 of them will be awarded the prize. The five selected artists will have their works shown in a series of exhibitions in collaboration with international photography institutions and events. The artists will be invited to attend at least one exhibition or event, with all expenses covered. The call for entries to the CAP Prize 2026 will open on the 7th of November, 2025.

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