IKOB – Museum of Contemporary Art has awarded an artist prize every three years since the institution’s beginnings. 2019 was the first time the award was given an explicitly feminist focus. With the 2025 edition of the Feminist Art Prize, we are proud to look back on the past two editions but would also be remiss not to note that the global situation regarding gender-based discrimination has only worsened.

We are facing a rampant wave of political revanchism and right-wing populism worldwide, forcing us to question the widespread assumption of linear and inevitable progress. A feminist art prize is therefore more important than ever. And there is no reason to hang our heads in defeat, because feminist art practices are resilient and future oriented. They offer alternatives and a safe haven for alternative way of living. We want to promote and strengthen these positions in contemporary art - especially those that confront us with the complexities of the body, identity and society and are not satisfied with simple answers. Utopia, eroticism, community, energy, resilience: together we want to embark on a journey in search of a better future.

Artists based in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, or Germany were invited to apply for the IKOB – Feminist Art Prize 2025. The following finalists were selected from almost 450 applications to present their work in the accompanying exhibition:

Catherina Cramer, Cordula Ditz, Magdalena Frauenberg, Bethan Hughes, Myrthe van der Mark, Bernice Nauta & G.C. Heemskerk, Herlinde Raeman, Lynne Gbodjrou Kouassi & Nora Heidorn, Sophie Schmidt, Sandra Singh, and Huize You.

The prize jury will meet at IKOB ahead of the exhibition opening on 13^th April, 2025 and select three winners, awarding a first, second and third prize endowed with €3000, €2000 and €1500 respectively. The third prize is awarded to an artist in East Belgium. The jury consists of: Caitlin Hennen (independent art consultant and curator), Jemima Kulumba (curator and founder of the “Biennale of Women in Art”, Brussels), Noor Mertens (director, Bochum Art Museum), Stilbé Schroeder (curator, casino luxembourg and of the Luxembourg Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2026) and Marnie Slater (artist and winner of the IKOB – Feminist Art Prize 2022).

Everyone is warmly invited to the opening and award ceremony of the IKOB - Feminist Art Prize 2025 on 13th April 2025 at 3 pm. The exhibition runs at IKOB until 24th August 2025.