CIRCA PRIZE 2025 IS HERE! BJÖRK LAUNCHES OUR SEARCH FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF CREATIVE TALENT ON PICCADILLY LIGHTS.
CIRCA PRIZE 2025 launched on the 1st May, with a global call challenging artists to consider sanctuary not as retreat, but as resistance — inviting them to propose new ways of seeing, surviving, and shaping our collective future. Broadcasting live from London, musician and Prize Juror Björk kicked things off with an excerpt of her new film Cornucopia on Piccadilly Lights.
Now in its fifth year, CIRCA PRIZE invites emerging and mid-career artists everywhere to submit a 2.5-minute (150 secs) video work in response to the CIRCA 20:25 Manifesto, REFUGIA. Thirty finalists will be selected by this year’s Curators’ Circle – selected annually by CIRCA to uphold the integrity of the prize – to have their work screened throughout September on London’s iconic Piccadilly Lights and broadcast across the CIRCA global platform. This year’s Circle includes Amal Khalaf, Ben Broome, and Samantha Ozer — each representing curatorial practices that reflect and support the wider creative community.
A distinguished jury of cultural leaders will select one finalist to receive the 2025 CIRCA PRIZE. This year’s jury comprises Multidisciplinary Artist Alvaro Barrington; Musician and Artist Björk; Industry Game Changer Edward Enninful; Curator and Gallerist Ebony L. Haynes; Arts Patron Nicoletta Fiorucci; Cultural Force Michèle Lamy; Founder and Artistic Director of CIRCA Josef O’Connor; Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries Hans Ulrich Obrist; Curator and Historian Norman Rosenthal; and Director of Programme at Tate Modern Catherine Wood.
Applications are open now for a 50-day window, and will close at midnight on 20 June 2025. All the information you need to apply is available on this link.
Aotearoa artist Matthew Galloway was named a finalist for the 2024 CIRCA Prize for his collaborative work Empty Vessels with Sahrawi/Algerian artist Mohamed Sleiman Labat.
As part of the CIRCA Prize showcase, Empty Vessels was displayed on London’s iconic Piccadilly Lights and broadcasted across screens in Berlin and Milan throughout September 2024. The work was featured on 8 September 2024, aligning with the prize's initiative to present each finalist's work on consecutive evenings.
Read more about Empty Vessels here.
Matthew is represented in Aotearoa New Zealand by Sumer
Images:
1. (news page) Michele Lamy & Björk. Courtesy of Circa Prize
2. Courtesy of Circa Prize
3. Matthew Galloway & Mohamed Sleiman Labat, Empty Vessels showing on London’s Piccadilly Lights, 8 September 2024.