Artes Mundi 11 with presenting partner Bagri Foundation

Artists shortlisted for Artes Mundi 11.

Top row, from left: Jumana Emil Abboud (photo: Ai Iwane); Anawana Haloba (photo: Sello Majara); Kameelah Janan Rashid (photo: Kameelah Janan Rasheed). Bottom row, from left: Sancintya Mohini Simpson (photo: Sid Coombes (Sica Media)); Antonio Paucar (photo: Jorge Jaime Valdez); Sawangwongse Yawnghwe (photo: Alex Blanco).

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Artes Mundi, the UK’s leading biennial exhibition and international contemporary art prize, is delighted to announce the shortlist of six international contemporary visual artists and five nationwide venue partners for its eleventh edition, Artes Mundi 11 with presenting partner Bagri Foundation (AM11) in 2025-26.

The artists are: Jumana Emil Abboud (born Shefa’amer, lives and works in London, UK and Jerusalem), Anawana Haloba (born Livingstone, lives and works in Oslo, Norway and Livingstone, Zambia), Antonio Paucar (born Huancayo, lives and works between Berlin, Germany and Huancayo, Peru), Kameelah Janan Rasheed (born East Palo Alto, lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, USA), Sacintya Mohini Simpson (born Brisbane, lives and works in Brisbane, Australia), and Sawangwongse Yawnghwe (born Shan State of Burma, lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands).

As a vital platform of cultural exchange between the UK and global artistic communities centred on the ongoing examination of the ‘human condition’, Artes Mundi brings together a significant biennial exhibition of contemporary art from impactful international artists. AM11 continues its legacy of presenting exceptional work in Wales that engages with the pressing issues of our time.

Work by each artist will feature in the biennial exhibition AM11 taking place from 17 October 2025 to 22 February 2026 with the winner of the prestigious £40,000 Artes Mundi Prize – the UK’s largest contemporary art prize – announced during the exhibition run. Following the success of AM10, for a second time AM11 will be presented nationally at multiple venues across Wales, with Aberystwyth Arts Centre participating for the first time.

All artists will be represented by work at National Museum in Cardiff, part of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, with further solo presentations on display across the country. The venue partners for AM11 are: Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth; Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea; MOSTYN, Llandudno; National Museum Cardiff; and Chapter, Cardiff.

Past editions have seen Artes Mundi work with artists at crucial stages of their careers, often being their first introduction to UK audiences, with many now established figures on the world stage, including Dineo Seshee Raisibe Bopape, Prabhakar Pachpute, Ragnar Kjartansson, Theaster Gates, John Akomfrah, Teresa Margolles, Xu Bing, and Tania Bruguera. The winner of the Artes Mundi 10 Prize (AM10) was Taloi Havini.

The AM11 selectors Zoe Butt, Sohrab Mohebbi and Marie Helene Pereira said,

“It was a challenge to refine a list of six artists for Artes Mundi 11, for there were many worthy candidates - a testament to the international visibility of Artes Mundi and its nominators. Considering the fractious global politics we currently face, the jury noted particular strength in the selected artists’ stories, experiences and inherited memories as timely and necessary in this world that lives within a fear of difference. We look forward to this exhibition knowing it will showcase a broad array of perspective, methodology and belief.”

Chelsea Pettitt, Director, Bagri Foundation said,

“The Bagri Foundation is thrilled to see the shortlist for Artes Mundi 11 announced. Artes Mundi is a crucial platform for international art in the UK and shares our aim to amplify powerful stories that transcend international borders. The artists selected for this edition deepen our understanding of art and its impact on the world around us. We cannot wait to see their presentations in Wales next year.”

Nigel Prince, Director of Artes Mundi said,

“We are delighted to announce the six selected artists for AM11 who collectively speak imaginatively and with pressing eloquence to concerns within our contemporary world. Following the success of AM10, we are excited to again work with venue partners across Wales to present a sequence of interrelated presentations. We look forward to revealing more details about our plans for the exhibition and welcoming new and returning audiences to Wales in 2025.”