A  new internal retrospective exhibition is currently on show at the EIB’s headquarters, and will stay on until the summer. Titled Accelerating Young Talent, the exhibition covers the 2020, 2021 and 2022 editions of the Artists Development Programme (ADP). This residency programme and talent accelerator for young artists is the EIB’s flagship Arts & Culture initiative, and celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2022.

After three years of hiatus due to the sanitary crisis, Accelerating Young Talent showcases the works of 12 artists  from 11 countries – Liviu Bulea (Romania), Panayiotis Doukanaris (Cyprus), Meta Drčar (Slovenia), Pauline-Rose Dumas (France), Jošt Franko (Slovenia), Alexandra Hunts (Netherlands), Nikolay Karabinovych (Ukraine), Agnieszka Mastalerz (Poland), Elsa Mencagli (Italy/Denmark), Andrej Polukord (Lithuania), Niamh Schmidtke (Ireland/Sweden) and Laure Winants (Belgium).

The artists produced work under the mentorship of internationally acclaimed artists Jorma Puranen (2020-2021) and Tatiana Trouvé (2022).

The exhibition’s opening was accompanied by a lunch with museum directors and curators, and an evening reception with a broader audience of cultural authorities from Luxembourg and the Greater Region to provide much-deserved visibility for these young artists. For many, the ADP was a boost that propelled them to further residency opportunities, research, and exhibitions.

The ADP illustrates the Bank’s efforts to support innovation by offering the next generation of European artists the opportunity to develop their practice in a high-quality professional setting, under the mentorship of an internationally-acclaimed artist.

More than just a residency scheme, the ADP also serves as a living laboratory for examining the most pressing issues of today – climate change, migration, diversity, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine – through the lens of art.

Works acquired from ADP artists after their residency have enriched the EIB art collection; and the socio-political commentary they often contain sparks reflection and discussions on many of the Bank’s values and strategic priorities.

Over the past 10 years, the ADP has helped propel the careers of more than 34 artists from 19 countries who have gone on to exhibit at some of the world’s most prestigious arts institutions such as Tate Britain…, and receive recognition from the art world’s most renowned prizes and events such as a Turner Prize nomination and the Venice Biennale.

Photo David Laurent (Wili)