LONDON, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Artes Mundi, the UK's leading biennial exhibition and international contemporary art prize, has named Peruvian artist Antonio Paucar as the winner of Artes Mundi 11 (AM11), organizers said.
Paucar was awarded 40,000 pounds (about 53,500 U.S. dollars) on Thursday, with organizers citing his creation of "a unique artistic language through performances, sculpture and related video."
For the exhibitions, Paucar presented large-scale hand-woven alpaca-wool sculptures and performance documentation. The jury praised his practice for its long-term engagement with local environments and communities.
"Drawing on his origins and the material culture of his indigenous Andean background, his practice poetically tackles contemporary conflicts faced by indigenous peoples and the ensuing environmental threats to place and home," the citation read.
AM11 features six international contemporary visual artists across five venue partners in Wales and runs until March 1. It opened in late October 2025.
Artes Mundi director Nigel Prince told Xinhua that organizers will continue to seek out outstanding artists from around the world and support them in realizing ambitious new work, while bringing contemporary art to communities across Wales through the prize's nationwide exhibition model.
Artes Mundi, which means "arts of the world" in Latin, was founded in 2002 and is based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Chinese artist Xu Bing was the first winner of the prize, awarded in 2004. ■