Introduced the Kjell Nupen Memorial Grant

The Memorial Grant will be presented every second year in commemoration of Norwegian artist Kjell Nupen, who passed away earlier this year. The first recipient of the Memorial Grant will be announced next year on 5 September, the birthday of Mr Nupen.

Cash prize and educational stay

The Kjell Nupen Memorial Grant is a collaboration between the H.M. Queen Sonja Art Foundation and Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE), a fine art print publisher in New York.

The Memorial Grant comprises an educational stay at ULAE’s workshop and a cash prize of NOK 50 000 to cover expenses for travel, food and accommodation and printing materials. The board of the Foundation is responsible for selecting the recipient. The Memorial Grant has been established in consultation with the family of Kjell Nupen.

The Queen and Ørnulf Opdahl signed prints

The grant was introduced at an event at the National Gallery in Oslo, where Queen Sonja took part in a conversation about art with Norwegian artist Ørnulf Opdahl and Swedish printer Ole Larsen, moderated by project manager Sune Norgren of the H.M. Queen Sonja Art Foundation.

Queen Sonja and Ørnulf Opdahl presented new works of graphic art developed in collaboration with ULAE in New York. In the US, there is a widespread tradition of inviting artists to do a signing. The Queen and Mr Opdahl signed their new prints on the stage at the National Gallery event this evening.

Guests were treated to a musical performance by Ole Edvard Antonsen.

H.M. Queen Sonja Art Foundation

The H.M. Queen Sonja Art Foundation seeks to generate interest in and promote the development of graphic art. The Queen Sonja Print Award is presented every second year. There have been two recipients thus far: Tiina Kivinen of Finland in 2012 and Svend-Allan Sørensen of Denmark in 2014.

At the award ceremony earlier this year, the Queen announced that the award – which has previously been reserved for Nordic artists – will now become an international distinction and nominees would be sought from around the world. To our knowledge, this makes the Queen Sonja Print Award the world’s largest graphic art award.