NN Art Award 2021 for Erik Mattijssen

On 30 June, the NN Art Award was presented for the fifth time at Art Rotterdam. The art prize was awarded to Erik Mattijssen of gallery Cokkie Snoei and consists of an amount of EUR 10,000. The winner was announced during the official opening of Art Rotterdam in the Van Nelle Fabriek in Rotterdam.

Dailah Nihot, member of the NN Group Management Board: ‘With the NN Art Award, we want to give a platform to exceptional talent. The diversity, quality and creativity of artists who have received training in the Netherlands is impressive and inspiring. We are proud to be able to support these artists.’

Erik Mattijssen: “My nomination, together with the other three nominees, already boosted our visibility. I am very proud that my work is displayed at Art Rotterdam and will continue with new plans for the future”

Public Choice Award

The summer edition of Art Rotterdam 2021 marks the fifth anniversary of the NN Art Award. To celebrate this milestone, this year art lovers and Art Rotterdam visitors can also vote for their favourite artist. The artist with the most votes will receive the Public Choice Award and receives an amount of EUR 5,000.

Voting is still possible via www.nn.nl/artwaward until Sunday 4 July 10:00 CET. Visitors to Art Rotterdam can also vote at the NN stand during the fair from Wednesday, 30 June until Saturday, 3 July. In the NN stand, art work of the four nominated artists are displayed. The winner of the Public Choice Award 2021 will be announced via a live stream (in Dutch) on Sunday, 4 July at 15:00 CET.

Submissions and criteria

Galleries submitted works of 38 different artists to be considered for the award. Four nominees were chosen by the jury (links in Dutch):

Priscila Fernandes, Division of Labour, London
Lilian Kreutzberger, CINNNAMON, Rotterdam
Claudia Martínez Garay, GRIMM, Amsterdam
Erik Mattijssen, Cokkie Snoei, Rotterdam

Jury 2021

The annually changing jury for this edition consisted of Imara Limon (curator Amsterdam Museum), Reyn van der Lugt (collector), Suzanne Swarts (director Museum Voorlinden), Koen Taselaar (artist and nominee NN Art Award 2020), Els Drummen (curator CODA Apeldoorn) and Elisah van den Bergh (curator NN Art collection).

The most important criteria that the jury takes into account are the completion of an art education at a Dutch academy, high-quality work, and an authentic and innovative visual language with new perspectives. The artist's work must also be on display at the Art Rotterdam fair.

Art Fair Art Rotterdam

Art Rotterdam takes place this year from 30 June to 4 July in Rotterdam. Art Rotterdam is the linchpin of Art Rotterdam Week. For five days, the Van Nelle Fabriek is the setting for the latest developments in the visual arts. NN Group has been a partner of the art fair since 2017.

Our cultural partnerships

NN Group wants to make a positive contribution to society, including through making art and culture more accessible to a wide audience. NN has been a partner of Art Rotterdam since 2017. As well as presenting the NN Art Award at the fair, we purchase artworks by some of the nominees for our corporate art collection.