Credit Suisse and Cosmoscow Continue New Young Artists’ Prize

Moscow, 7 August, 2017 – Credit Suisse, one of the world's leading financial services providers, and Cosmoscow, Russia's only international contemporary art fair, announce they will offer a Credit Suisse Cosmoscow Prize for Young Artists for the second year running at the event in September.

Credit Suisse’s sponsorship of Cosmoscow started in 2015 and, in 2016, the Credit Suisse Cosmoscow Prize for Young Artists was established for the first time. The Prize aims to support emerging artists in Russia and abroad and provide a platform for young Russian artists to develop their careers.

Selected by an expert jury, the winner of the award will be announced on Sept. 7 during Cosmoscow’s fifth annual fair in Moscow’s Gostiny Dvor.

Artists with Russian citizenship under the age of 35 working across both visual and multimedia art are eligible for the Prize. The award includes a financial grant of CHF 3,000, mentorship from Credit Suisse and Cosmoscow, and an art trip to Switzerland. The winner will also have the option to take part in an art residency in Berne, Switzerland.

The winning artist will be subject to a two-step judging process. The first involves being selected for inclusion in the long list of nominees. In the second stage, the Prize Jury, comprised of five international experts, will choose the winner.

André Rogger, head of Credit Suisse Art Collection, said: “With this partnership, Credit Suisse continues the bank’s long-standing commitment to nurturing young talent. This philosophy is well-reflected in our other international artist awards, entrepreneur initiatives, and our corporate art collection. We are delighted to again be able to partner with Cosmoscow to contribute to the development of the contemporary art market in Russia.”

Margarita Pushkina, founding director of Cosmoscow and art patron said: “We greatly appreciate the partnership between Cosmoscow and Credit Suisse, lasting over three years. We share this confidence in contemporary Russian art and its vast potential. It was this very confidence that has served as a starting point for launch of the Credit Suisse Cosmoscow Prize for Young Artists last year. We very much hope that this philanthropic initiative will go on contributing to the support and development of young talent, while at the same time reviving rich Russian traditions of art patronage.”

In 2016, three Russian artists - Anastasia Bogomolova (Chelyabinsk), Ilya Dolgov (Voronezh) and Anastasia Kuzmina (Moscow) - won the Prize. Based on the 2016 winners’ feedback, the Prize played a significant role in their artistic development enabling them to expand their professional networks, find new sources of inspiration and implement new arts projects.

Credit Suisse’s other sponsorship commitments include: the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Shanghai Museum, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the Kunsthaus in Zurich. The bank also sponsors the Young Artist Award at the Lucerne Festival. In Russia, Credit Suisse has been the General Sponsor of the Bolshoi Theatre since 2007.

Credit Suisse also has its own Art Collection comprised of more than 10,000 works, mainly by contemporary Swiss and Switzerland-based artists. Based on its strategy to encourage young talent, the bank starts acquiring works from artists at an early stage in their career. For example, back in 2015 Credit Suisse purchased artwork created by Svetlana Shuvaeva.