Swiss artist Daria Blum wins the inaugural Claridge’s Royal Academy Schools Art Prize.
Paul Jackson, Russell Tovey, Daria Blum, Marina Abramović and Eliza Bonham Carter at Claridge's, 2023 Photo by Dave Benett. Courtesy of Getty Images for Claridge's.
Swiss artist Daria Blum has been announced as the inaugural winner of Claridge’s Royal Academy Schools Art Prize. The announcement took place during an award ceremony held at Claridge’s hotel in London on Tuesday, with the award presented by Honorary Royal Academician Marina Abramović and introduced by actor and art advocate Russell Tovey.
Blum’s practice encompasses performance art and multimedia installations. She was chosen for the honor by judges Yinka Shonibare and Eva Rothschild during the recent R.A. Schools Show. The prize includes £30,000 ($36,000), which includes a production fund and a solo exhibition at Claridge’s ArtSpace gallery in Mayfair.
“Daria’s ambitious performance work using multimedia installation brings us face to face with everyday dramas as told by her unlikable, hypercritical, and emotional performative character,” said Eliza Bonham Carter, curator and director of the Royal Academy Schools. “Absurd, messy, serious, and funny in turns, I greatly look forward to seeing Daria’s work develop with the support of the Claridge’s Royal Academy Schools Art Prize.”
Blum completed her postgraduate degree at the R.A. this summer and has exhibited work in London at V.O Curations (2022), and at the Piccadilly Lights landmark (2022); as well as internationally at MAXXI Museum in Rome and the Latvian National Museum of Art (both in 2019).