As part of the award, Meher will receive EUR 10,000 to invest in the production of new work. Further, NN Group will purchase an art piece from nominees Salim Bayri, Kévin Bray or Laura Jatkowski for its own art collection.

Monali Meher together with Fleur Hudig during Art Rotterdam

Monali Meher: ‘It’s a very special moment for me, I will cherish it and am deeply honoured to have been awarded the NN Art Award 2023. The prize opens new doors for me and I can continue to invest in my work to create art that raises awareness about the world and comment on its wonders and disasters.’

For Meher, time is the main subject, medium and purpose of her artistic practice. From continuity, repetition and temporality to volatility and immortality, it constructs and distorts. The jury thought her work is poetic and cyclical. She moves you; in circles of destruction and renewal, in circles of personal and universal, and in circles of vulnerability and strength. She is an expert in using different media to convey her stories. Meher uses the natural qualities of her materials and deforms them to transform the space around them. From glass art to the use of herbs, from photography to performances, she masters it.

Fleur Hudig, Head of Corporate Citizenship at NN Group shares: ‘The NN Art Award provides artistic talent a platform to present their latest works. The story of each artists journey is impressive and inspirational. With our award we hope to encourage artists to further explore their capabilities and create pieces to convey a new point of view. The way Meher used raw materials for her art pieces is thought provoking. It shows how art can contribute to raising awareness about a circular economy, and at the same time it demonstrates how the reuse of materials can create something beautiful while contributing to a more sustainable world.’ 

Jury 2023

This year the jury consisted of: 
Inez de Brauw – visual artist and winner of NN Art Award Public Choice 2022 
Yolande van der Heide – curator at Van Abbemuseum 
Ali Keles - collector and Managing Partner at Lakeside Capital Partners 
Marina de Vries - editor-in-chief of Museum magazine 
Elisah van den Bergh - former curator of the NN Art Collection

Nominees 2023

The four nominees of the NN Art Award 2023 were: 
Salim Bayri – Prospects, Mondriaan Fund 
Kévin Bray – Upstream Gallery 
Laura Jatkowski – Prospects, Mondriaan Fund 
Monali Meher – Lumen Travo Gallery

Partnership NN Group and Art Rotterdam

NN Group has been a partner of Art Rotterdam since 2017 and awards this yearly prize to a contemporary art talent with an authentic visual angle and innovative perspective. As a supporter of talent, NN believes it’s important to give artists the opportunity and a platform to inspire others. NN has a long history of cultural sponsorships in the cities where NN has offices; Rotterdam, The Hague and Arnhem with a focus on visual arts, museums and music. By investing in culture, NN connects with local communities, meets customers, inspires employees and clients whilst encouraging art explorers to widen their horizons.

This year, the Mauritshuis celebrates its 200^th anniversary. As the main partner of the museum, NN is supporting several anniversary projects throughout the year. 

This summer, two special exhibitions will be on display in the museum: Hello Vermeer!, an interactive exhibition about the famous painter, and a photography exhibition called Flash/Back in which renowned Dutch photographers create new work, inspired by the Mauritshuis collection.

NN and the Mauritshuis are also launching the Mauritshuis Murals, an exhibition of murals painted by talented street artists. The murals are on display in neighborhoods across The Hague and are inspired by the Mauritshuis collection. As part of the same project, NN and the Mauritshuis have invited street artists in the Netherlands to submit a design for a mural. The winning design will be painted on a wall in a neighborhood in The Hague.

Additionally, NN is inviting 200 families from The Hague to visit the museum during the upcoming summer holiday. The visit is being organised together with the LINDA.Foundation, a Dutch charity that supports families in financial need.

Located in the centre of The Hague, the Mauritshuis started as a museum in 1822. Since then, it has become known for its collection of paintings from the 17th century, containing masterpieces from a range of Dutch and Flemish painters, including Vermeer and Rembrandt. NN has been the main partner of the Mauritshuis since 2016. We recently extended our partnership for three years, as part of our aim to help make art and culture accessible to everyone, and thus make a positive contribution to society.

At NN, we actively seek opportunities to make art and culture accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. Next to our running sponsorships, we invest in cultural partnerships and since 2018 we have been title sponsor of the NN North Sea Jazz festival, adding music to the mix. As music inspires and fascinates, it plays a role at many events in people’s lives. This relates closely to our brand promise ‘You matter’, with which we want to convey that what matters to you, matters to us. In the Netherlands, Nationale-Nederlanden is proud to contribute to bringing dance fans together online by this tribute to the rich Dutch dance culture.

Remco Barbier, Head of Branding NN Group: ‘With our partnerships we want to offer everybody the opportunity to be part of something special. This is why we support cultural projects with Dutch museums, artists and the music industry. The Dutch electronic dance music has a history of over 30 years and characterises itself by creativity, inclusivity, innovation, entrepreneurship and courage. The music, the festivals and the clubs bring people of all ages and backgrounds together. More than that, Dutch dance has undeniably become an important part of our cultural heritage.’

The Dutch Dance Quiz and Dutch Dance Podcast

The Dutch Dance Quiz will take place virtually on Saturday 17, 24 and 31 October from 21:00 CET. This will be the national quiz for all dance fans with icons of Dutch Dance history from the past thirty years. The quiz can be accessed at the website www.dutchdancequiz.nl (entirely in Dutch).

More anecdotes from the dance scene are being shared in the weekly Dutch Dance Podcast, available through Spotify and many other podcast platforms. Read more (in Dutch) on nn.nl/muziek .