1. Space name / team name:
CAP Space
2. Name of primary contact:
Paul Geraghty
3. Names of additional Space admins:
Benjamin FĂźglister
4. SuperRare username(s) of everyone who will be a Space admin:
5. Short bio of you and/or your team:
Benjamin FĂźglister is an artist and cultural entrepreneur. In his artistic practice he questions social conventions and explores their visual transformations. His particular interest is photography as a medium for visualizing the shifts in the human image. FĂźglister is the founder of the annual CAP Prize, the prize for contemporary African photography. He is a Prix Pictet nominator and sits on the Photo Basel artistic advisory board. He is the founder of the IAF Basel â Festival for Contemporary Art and regularly engages as a reviewer at international photography festivals.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminfueglister/
Paul Geraghty is a director of the CAP Prize. Paul is Chair of the board, Gallery of Photography, Ireland - Irelandâs National cultural institution that supports photography and its makers. The Gallery runs a full programme of exhibitions and welcomes more than 200,000 visitors annually - current exhibition is the Prix Pictet, the Galleryâs previous exhibition was Martin Parr. Paul has produced many international photography awards: most notably the California Academyâs Big Picture Photography Award, The British Trust for Ornithology Bird Photographer of the Year, and the Syngenta Photography Award. Paul is a technologist, entrepreneur, and collector. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-geraghty/
6. Website & Social Media Links:
www.capassociation.org,
www.capprize.com,
www.editionpopcap.com
IG: @capprize
Twitter: @cap_prize
Facebook: @capprize
Pinterest: @cap_association
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cap-association
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/capassociation
7. Summary/manifesto of your Space. What is the unique value prop / elevator pitch? What type of art will you focus on? How will your Space stand out among the crowd?
We promote artists, who through the medium of photography, engage with the African continent and the African Diaspora.
We started this project in 2012 because we found that diverse photographic voices around Africa were under-represented and overlooked by the main-stream art world. We founded the CAP Prize to give voice to those artists.
The CAP Prize is now in its 10th Year: weâre interested in long-term, sustainable relationships that help drive the artists career. We connect CAP Prize winners to a network of peers that can help them develop as artists. Our approach has helped artists reach commercial success: the award has helped the careers of over 50 artists including: Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo, 2019, Jodi Bieber, 2019 (World Press), Cristina de Middel, Joana Choumali (Prix Pictet 2019). The prize raises the winners international exposure and glues them into a network that they can rely on to support their professional development.
Jodi Bieber, Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo, Joana Choumali, and Cristina de Middel
8. Describe you/your teamâs experience curating and promoting artwork:
The CAP Team provides a platform where artists can freely submit work where the work gets seen and reviewed by respected arts academics and professionals. Each November we put an open call to artists to submit work that deals with Africa or the African Diaspora. Submissions are reviewed by a panel of 25 international experts and curators - such as Fiona Shields (Head of Photography, The Guardian), Sandra M. Stevenson (editor, New York Times), Azu Nwagbogu (Curator, LagosPhoto festival) or Lesley A. Martin (editor in chief, aperture magazine), Shahidul Alam (festival director, Chobi Mela, Bangladesh), Steven Evans, (director, Houston Fotofest), John Fleetwood, (Co-Head, KABK Photography Departement).
From the submissions we short-list 25 artists, from which we select 5 who we exhibit internationally at venues and photographic festivals around the world including i.e. IAF Basel Festival for Contemporary Art, LagosPhoto Festival, PhotoIreland Festival or the OBSCURA Festival for Photography in Malaysia.
CAP Prize 2020 exhibition at IAF Basel during Art Basel, September 2021
Our panelists include:
-
Curators from major cultural institutions
Tanya Kiang, Gallery of Photography Ireland; Samuel Sidibe National Museum of Mali; and Joselina Cruz, the Museum of Contemporary Art Manila. -
Photographic editors and journalists at major titles
Andreas MĂźller-Pohle, European Photography Magazine; and Jennifer Shaw, The Guardian; and Lesley A. Martin; Aperture. -
Festival directors
Lassana Igo Diarra, Bamako Encounters; Azu Nwagbogu, LagosPhoto Festival; Aida Muluneh, Addis FotoFest; and Steven Evans, Houston FotoFest. -
Academics
Florian Ebner, Centre Pompidou; Makola Lekgetho, University of Pretoria; and Liz Ikiriko, Ryerson University.
More than 55 exhibitions have reached more than two million people. We have staged exhibitions in: Lagos, Cape Town, Addis Abeba, Basel, Dublin, Vienna, Penang, Auckland, Buenos Aires, and more: CAP Prize â International Prize for Contemporary African Photography
The work has been featured in the New York Times, CNN, the Guardian, BBC, and in numerous arts and photography magazines. CAP Prize â International Prize for Contemporary African Photography
The prize mechanic provides:
- The narrative within which we engage and communicate with our audience
- Assures that artists selected work is artistically outstanding,
- Brings artists to the attention of curators, editors that the artist would find it difficult to connect to.
- Is fair to the artists that submit their work
CAP Prize 2014 exhibition at Cape Town Month of Photography, October 2014
9. Describe you/your teamâs experience organizing exhibitions, making art sales, running auctions, networking with collectors, etc.
In 2015 we produced the first Edition POPCAP which we produce in conjunction with the artists and we sell on their behalf.
Benjamin FĂźglister, through his position on the curatorial board of photo basel international art fair, is closely acquainted with the traditional art market, and was instrumental in the decision to include NFTâs for the first time at Photo Basel. Ben has produced an annual arts festival for 10 years, worked in major photography festivals such as the Berlin Photography Festival, and produced a major virtual photography exhibition showcasing the very latest in African photography in 2021. Ben has deep publishing experience and has spent 18 years working with European Photography Magazine. FĂźglister is very experienced in just about every aspect of art creation, art production, presentation, marketing and sales.
Paul Geraghty through his work with Gallery of Photography has developed relationships with collectors and artists internationally; during his tenure the Gallery has staged more than 50 exhibitions by early, mid-career, and established artists. Paulâs latest project is a NFT collaboration with MOCA, Foundation.app, and Foundation for art and blockchain thatâs helping 6 photographers partner with 6 composers to create new work which will be exhibited at exhibitions at physical locations in Ireland and in the metaverse. The work will be minted and sold as part of the programme .
Virtual Exhibition: Award Winning African Photography in collaboration with Photo Basel, April 2021
10. Are there new artists youâd like to bring into the Space in the first six months? What is your relationship to them?
Each year we shortlist 25 photographers from which we select 5 finalists: both groups will be eligible to be included in our Super Rare Space. We would also open the Space to previous finalists and shortlisted artists. We would also include 5 previous winnersâ work on the Space. Each year we would hope to add between 5 and 10 artists whose work will be promoted throughout our programme of events and exhibitions.
11. Are there any artists already in the CryptoArt space that you are planning to work with for this Space? Have they committed to participating yet?
Ismail Zaidy, who is already successfully selling NFT artworks, has expressed interest in participating. https://foundation.app/@l4artiste
12. Please provide any additional details you can about how you plan to operate this Space; e.g. cadence of exhibitions, auction strategy, number of artworks, other ideas for promoting your art and artists, etc.
2022, we have confirmed exhibitions at major cultural institutions and festivals in: Dublin, Zurich, Kampala, Marrakech, and Beacon NY. Each exhibition provides an opportunity to promote the artists and talk about their work available for sale at the CAP Super Rare Space. We will continue our programme of networking at major photography events Rencontres dâArles, Photo London, Paris Photo, Art Basel, and Rencontres de la photographie Bamako where we promote our artists and drive sales at SuperRare. During the exhibitions and artists talks we will foster a discourse around collecting NFTs.
In collaboration with Photo Basel we will mint and drop a collection of single editions which would be auctioned during Art Basel. We would also like to investigate the possibility of creating a multiple edition NFT drop related to each exhibition.
13. How do you plan to structure commission rates for the artists who release in your Space?
Our physical print edition, Ădition POPCAP was created in response to overwhelming interest from CAP Prize exhibition-goers. 70% of proceeds go to the artists, and the other 30% are used to fund the Prize and promote the artists. We will adopt this commission structure for artists who release on our space.
14. To you, what is the importance of NFTs as a medium/technology? Where do you see the NFT and CryptoArt space in five years?
Being able to mint and market NFTâs on behalf of our artists would be a huge deal. A common crypto use-case is that crypto helps the unbanked bank. Artists weâve promoted through the prize often do not have bank accounts. Being able to transact - to sell their work and receive payment - would be transformative.
We feel that in the short to medium term that there will be a market adjustment in the NFT space. We are really interested in the emergence of a sustainable market that supports creators, where collectors can collect in confidence. We see âtightâ curation as being key to the development of a sustainable market that rewards artists whose work is artiscally outstanding, and rewards collectors who invest in them.
15. If your Space were a cocktail or a dish, what would it be and why?
Takosu - an octopus salad thatâs refreshing, unexpected, familiar yet different
16. Anything else youâd like the community to consider?
The CAP Prize helps African artists, and artists whose work deals with Africa - whose work is artistically outstanding - reach an audience. The CAP Prize connects them to a community that supports them in their artistic development. We are very focused on developing the artists we support and helping them achieve their commercial and artistic goals. We very much see NFTâs as instrumental in helping the artist we support reach their commercial goals.
â˛Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo, CAP Prize Winner
ⲠJodi Bieber, CAP Prize Winner
ⲠJoana Choumali, CAP Prize Winner
ⲠCristina DeMiddel, CAP Prize Winner
ⲠAà desokan, CAP Prize Winner
ⲠDillon Marsh, CAP Prize Winner
ⲠFabrice Monteiro, CAP Prize Winner
â˛Girma Berta, CAP Prize Winner
ⲠIsmail Zaidy, CAP Prize Winner
ⲠJoseph Obanubi, CAP Prize Winner
â˛Nabil Boutros, CAP Prize Winner
â˛Namsa Leuba, CAP Prize Winner
â˛Yoriyas, CAP Prize Winner