The international jury of the Prix de Rome has selected four visual artists for the shortlist of the Prix de Rome 2017. The nominees are: Melanie Bonajo, Rana Hamadeh, Saskia Noor van Imhoff and Katarina Zdjelar.

Each artist will receive a working budget and will be given the opportunity to create new work during a five-month period.

The jury made its selection from a list of 111 artists, some of whom were proposed by 22 scouts engaged by the Mondriaan Fund. Other artists initiated proposals themselves or were nominated by a third party. The four shortlisted artists were nominated by both scouts and third parties.
The jury was impressed by the extent and the quality of the artists presented to them. In their selection of candidates for the shortlist, criteria like an innovative attitude, the layered structure of the work and further potential for development played a key role. Furthermore, the jury was looking for an artist who could grow at international level too and who would be a good representative of the current Dutch art world. The jury found work that reflects on the time in which we live particularly compelling. After careful consultation, the jury overwhelmingly chose four artists who possess these qualities. The jury is very much looking forward to the plans which these artists will elaborate during their work period and the subjects which they will incorporate in their new work.

Rana Hamadeh (Beirut/Lebanon, 1983, lives and works in Rotterdam). She first studied music and art in Beirut, and later obtained her MFA at the Dutch Art Institute/ArtEZ University of the Arts. Based on certain objects or events, and in performances, discussions, texts and installations, she explores the production of knowledge and meanings. Commending the personal role which Hamadeh plays in her performances and with which she brings her work alive, the jury calls her courageous. The subjects that she addresses are relevant to our current era and initiate a dialogue about art, (art) history and their appropriation. The jury calls her an intelligent and inquisitive artist who is averse to tested formulas and who has great potential to continue growing in her designs.
Rana Hamadeh was proposed by Otobong Nkanga, Maaike Gouwenberg and Annie Fletcher.