Two Cultural Figures Connected to Britain Win Major European Prize: Film-Maker John Akomfrah and Curator Charles Esche

Two Cultural Figures Connected to Britain Win Major European Prize: Film-Maker John Akomfrah and Curator Charles Esche

AMSTERDAM, March 14, 2012/PRNewswire/ --

The European Cultural Foundation (ECF) is pleased to announce that British-based
film-maker John Akomfrah and British-born curator Charles Esche will receive the ECF
Princess Margriet Award next week.

The award is given out annually to European artists, intellectuals and activists who
envisage a truly intercultural landscape and strive for societal change. The prize is a
tribute to HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, who served as ECF President from 1983
to 2007.

This is the fourth year of the award and the first time that two cultural figures with
such strong ties to Britain have been chosen. They will both receive prize money of 25,000
Euros.

This year's laureates include John Akomfrah (1957, Ghana), who lives and works in
London. The jury praised Akomfrah's body of work - from his earliest film essay Handsworth
Songs (1986) to his latest feature film Nine Muses (2010). His most recent work is an
artistic mediation on migration, myth and memory using diverse perspectives that challenge
the dominant narratives of European history.

The other laureate this year is Charles Esche (1962, England), the current Director of
the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Esche is honoured for his exceptional
leadership in rethinking museums of contemporary art as public spaces that show us the
power and value of art in engaging with society.

The two laureates will receive the Award during a ceremony in the Egg in Brussels on
Monday, 19 March, in the presence of HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, HRH
Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands (current ECF President) and HRH Princess Astrid of
Belgium.

Prior to the Award ceremony, ECF and Flemish-Dutch House deBuren will host a public
debate "Politics, economics and culture, a different balance?" between laureate Charles
Esche with Professor Judith Marquand (Wolfson College, Oxford) and Frans Timmermans
(former Dutch Minister for European Affairs) moderated by Julie de Groote, (President of
the Brussels French-speaking Parliament).

Notes for the Editor

1. Both John Akomfrah and Charles Esche are available for interview.

2. You are cordially invited to the Princess Margriet Award ceremony, which takes
place on 19 March 2012 at 16.45 in the Egg, Brussels.

Here is the link to register:
http://crmplatform.nl/engine?app=ecf&service=classmanager:form:6&cmd=new

3. You are also invited to the debate on the 19 March 2012 at 14.30 in the Egg,
Brussels.

Here is the link to register:

http://www.deburen.eu/en/events/detail/politics-economics-and-culture-a-different-balance

More information about the laureates and Princess Margriet Award below:

John Akomfrah

http://www.eurocult.org/sites/www.eurocult.org/files/archive/press_release/ECF_PMA_Presspack_Akomfrah_small.pdf

Charles Esche

http://www.eurocult.org/sites/www.eurocult.org/files/archive/press_release/ECF_PMA_Presspack_Esche_small.pdf

ECF Princess Margriet Award

http://www.eurocult.org/activities/princess-margriet-award

ECF

http://www.eurocult.org

4. The Award is organised in cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture
and Science and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

5. The European Cultural Foundation is an independent foundation that has been
operating for nearly 60 years, supporting cultural exchange and creative expression across
59 countries in Europe.

Source: The European Cultural Foundation

Contact Nicola Mullenger - Senior Communications Officer at ECF - on tel +31-20-573-3868 or by email at nicola@eurocult.org

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