Art Prize
WHY AN ART PRIZE?
Coast Contemporary Art Prize is awarded to an artist who opens their studio during one of the open studios festivals in Norway. We wish to bring attention to the importantce of the studio as a professional working space and also to honor artists that opens their doors, as well as minds, to the public.
We are delighted to announce Anette Gellein as the winner of the 2025 Art Prize in collaboration with Open Studios Stavanger.
PRIZE WINNERS
2025 Anette Gellein
2024 Sveinung Rudjord Unneland
2024 Helle Mellemstrand
2022 Viktor Pedersen
2021 Covid cancelled
2020 Anne Lise Stenseth
2019 Ragnhild Aamås
2018 Randi Nygård
2025
ANETTE GELLEIN
Anette Gellein is the winner of the Coast Contemporary Art Prize 2025.
In proud collaboration with Open Studios Stavanger we are delighted to announce the news of this years winner.
Anette Gellein, based in Stavanger, is an exceptionally talented and multifaceted artist who we believe has great international potential and we therefore want to highlight her practice during this year’s edition of Coast Contemporary in the hope that Gellein will have new collaborations and exhibitions in the future, both in Norway and internationally. Gellein works with performance, film, drawing, sound, painting and textiles and addresses current and important issues in their art such as power, gender, politics and emotions in their own unique way.
Interview with Gellein can be read in CAS Contemporary Art Stavanger.
We look forward to presenting Anette Gellein at Velferden in September, 2025. Gellein is also the winner of the Stavanger City Art Prize and has an upcoming exhibition at Kunsthall Stavanger in 2026.
JURY 2025
On behalf of Open Studios Stavanger: Valentina Martinez Mariscal, director of Rogaland kunstsenter.
On behalf of Coast: Tanja Sæter, founder of Coast.
2024
SVEINUNG RUDJORD UNNELAND
Sveinung Rudjord Unneland was the winner of our Art Prize 2024, in collaboration with B-Open, Bergens Open Studios festival.
Unneland received the award for opening his studio during B-Open and for his outstanding collective work enpowering collegues and thinking in new ways when it comes to social spaces, community and development of artistic practices. Unneland is based in Bergen and he is the founder of the artist run gallery Joy Forum (2018-2022) and co-founder of the studio collective the unfinished institution (2022-).
Between 2012-2018 he worked as assistant professor at the Art Academy in Bergen. Since graduation in 2007 he has exhibited considerable, in addition to be active in several artistic collaborations. His practice includes the work as abstract painter, writer, organizer, curator, publisher and scenographer for film and theater.
www.denuferdigeinstitusjonen.no
During Coast eight edition Art on Food we visited the unfinished institution in Bergen with our international visitors program for a night of cooking, presentations and studio visits. As a part of his presentation Unneland invited collegue Ane Hjort Guttu to a screening of Guttus film Manifesto (2020) followed by an artist talk at the old Munch Museum in Oslo. Sveinung Rudjord Unneland did the hidden kitchen scenography for Guttus brilliant film who was inspired by Unnelands project Joy Forum.
Read the reflections of curator Viviana Checcia in the online magazine CAS – Contemporary Art Stavanger here.
2024
HELLE MELLEMSTRAND
Helle Mellemstrand was the winner of the 2024 art-prize in collaboration with OSS – Open Studios Stavanger.
Helle Mellemstrand is one remarkable woman. Working in wool, glue and self-made felt she creates large scale installations and intricate work. The work could make ones thoughts wander towards wounds, crust, fat, brain, entrails, a delicious dessert or the latest fashion on the cover of Vogue. In her own special way of treating the wool, developed over many years of research and experimentation the magnificent work seems fresh and undiscovered, yet there is also something ancient and timeless in Helle Mellemstrands work. Mellemstrand is based in Stavanger and graduated from Bergen Kunsthåndverkskule in 1986, with a Master in Textile.
Helles website www.hellemellemstrand.no
Helle herself explains that her practice is research into textile possibilities.
Read the interview with prize winner Mellemstrand in CAS Contemporary Art Stavanger here.
Location: Oslo & Bergen.
JURY 2024
On behalf of Open Studios Stavanger: Heather Jones, independent curator, and co-founder and Editor of Contemporary Art Stavanger (CAS).
On behalf of Coast: Tanja Sæter, founder of Coast Contemporary.
ABOUT OSS (text by OSS)
Open Studios Stavanger is an annual art festival held in Stavanger and Sandnes follows a similar model to the Oslo Open and B-Open studio festivals. Our core activity is to arrange open studios for the general public and for a professional visiting program consisting of gallerists, curators, critics and writers. The festival became an organizer for the first time in September 2023.
2022
VIKTOR PEDERSEN
Artist Viktor Pedersen was the winner of the Coast Contemporary art prize, 2022.
Pedersen participated in Tromsø during our sixth edition Land of Prey – Witch-hunting in the 21st Century, with a screening of the new film To See Without Man. The work is a collaboration between artist Ingrid K. Bjørnaali and Viktor Pedersen.
To See Without Man is an animated video narrated by poetic reflections originating from attempts to approach and understand the vegetal mind.
Bjørnaali is behind the visual part of the video, where she has worked with photogrammetric 3d scanning of plants that Pedersen grows at home. These plants are mainly in the Nightshade family, and include members like Tobacco, Belladonna, Datura Stramonium, and Mugwort. Specimens that through history have been used for ritual and magic purposes.
Viktor Pedersen (b.1988) works interdisciplinary with video, performance, sound, and text. In his artistic practice, he approaches non-human intelligence to look at how we interact with other organisms in conscious and unconscious ways.
Location: Tromsø & Bergen.
JURY 2022
On behalf of Oslo Open: Director of the Canica collection and Oslo Open board member Therese Möllenhoff.
On behalf of Coast: Tanja Sæter, founder of Coast.
2020
ANNE LISE STENSETH
Artist Anne-Lise Stenseth – The prize winner was presented with a month long screening of the film Suspended Dust HD 25 min. (2015) including a publication. Price granted in collaboration with Oslo Open
She also participated in an artist talk with chair of Oslo Open Trond Hugo Haugen, during “Constructing Structures” curated by Tanja Sæter.
Location: Oslo, Hovedøya (with Covid-19 limitations).
JURY 2020
On behalf of Oslo Open: Astrup Fearnley curator and Oslo Open board member Therese Möllenhoff.
On behalf of Coast: Tanja Sæter, founder of Coast.
2019
RAGNHILD AAMÅS
The prize winner Ragnhild Aamås was presented at Håholmen with the out door performance and reading;
urørt&naturleg
untouched&natural
intacte&naturel (once again)
Aamås also presented sculptures and outdoor installations. She participated in 2019 during “Organized Freedom” curated by Sverre Gullesen and Tanja Sæter.
Location: Molde, Håholmen and the ship Hurtigruten between Kristiansund and Bergen.
JURY 2019
On behalf of Oslo Open: Artist and Chair of Oslo Open, Trond Hugo Haugen.
On behalf of Coast: artist Sverre Gullesen & founder Tanja Sæter, co-curators of the third edition.
2018
RANDI NYGÅRD
The prize winner Randi Nygård was presented with the book The Wild Living Marine Resources Belongs to the Society as a Whole, and an artist talk with scholar and author Timotheus Vermeulen, during the second edition “Rugged weathered, above the sea”, curated by Charles Aubin (New York) in dialogue with Artistic Director, Tanja Sæter.
Location: Aboard the ship Hurtigruten, sailing from Lofoten to Bergen.
JURY 2018
On behalf of Oslo Open: Artist and Chair of Oslo Open, Trond Hugo Haugen.
On behalf of Coast: Coast Advisory Board member, author and art critic Timotheus Vermeulen and founder of Coast, Tanja Sæter.