NN Art Award 2026

 During Art Rotterdam 2026, the NN Art Award will be presented for the tenth time, marking a special jubilee edition. The award is presented annually to talented artists who have completed a programme at a Dutch art institute and are showing work at Art Rotterdam. For ten years, the award has offered artists an important springboard. Prize winners have gone on to find their way into museums and collections both in the Netherlands and abroad. The NN Art Award represents a consistent and content-driven investment in the visibility and development of artistic talent. The winner will be announced during a festive evening at Kunsthal Rotterdam on Friday 27 March. Work by the four nominees will be on view there from 14 March until 25 May 2026 in a dedicated exhibition. 

A sustainable partnership 
Nationale-Nederlanden, part of NN Group, has been a partner of Art Rotterdam since 2017. In this capacity, they award an annual incentive prize to outstanding contemporary artistic talent. The focus is on artists with a distinct and innovative visual language. Their work often engages with social themes or stands out through a striking technical approach. The award is intended both for emerging talent and for artists who have already taken further steps in their careers. Thanks to multidisciplinary selection criteria, all media are eligible. 

Room for development and visibility 
The winner receives a cash prize of €10,000, intended to further develop their practice and reach a wider audience. The nominees are once again given the opportunity to present their work at Kunsthal Rotterdam. The exhibition runs from 14 March until 25 May and attracted more than 24.000 visitors last year. In addition, all four nominees are featured in an article on GalleryViewer.com. Nationale-Nederlanden also acquires work by one or more of the nominees for the NN Art Collection. 

The quality of Dutch art education
The NN Art Award draws attention to the high level of art education in the Netherlands. Artists from all over the world consciously seek out leading institutes such as the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, De Ateliers, the Jan van Eyck Academie and the Piet Zwart Institute. 

Looking back at 2025 
At the previous edition, Pris Roos received the award. She is represented by Mini Galerie. Roos: “Winning the NN Art Award gave me the opportunity and the means to sharpen my goals and set up a second studio in Bogor, Indonesia, where my family originally comes from. Spending time in a city with a rich natural environment, frequent rainfall, a deeply rooted colonial history and diverse communities prompted deeper reflection. I want to approach my practice from different sensory and historical perspectives. I am already learning a great deal there from local residents, for example about the innovative ways in which they use plastic and paper in their daily routines, such as making a fan from plastic bottles. In Indonesia, I engage in conversations, observe and strengthen connections with local partners, both residents and institutions. Reflections from this period are already visible in my upcoming exhibitions at CODA Apeldoorn and Museum Limburg, in collaboration with Riboet Verhalenkunst. In addition, my first children’s book, ‘Toko van mijn ouders’, will be published this year. Thank you Nationale-Nederlanden, Art Rotterdam, Kunsthal and the jury members. It truly means so much for an artist to be able to tell your story.”

The jury
The selection is entrusted to a jury of art professionals that changes annually. The jury nominates four artists and subsequently selects the winner of the NN Art Award. The jury is interdisciplinary and brings together perspectives from different fields, including art journalists, curators, museum directors, artists, art collectors and the curator of the NN Art Collection. This year, the jury consists of: 

• Marianne Splint (general director of Kunsthal Rotterdam)
• Jacquill G. Basdew (socio-cultural initiator, curator and supervisor)
• Edo Dijksterhuis (art journalist for, among others, Het Parool and Museumtijdschrift)
• Pris Roos (visual artist and winner of the NN Art Award 2025)
• Maartje de Roy van Zuydewijn (curator of the NN Art Collection)

Galleries participating in Art Rotterdam can nominate artists for the NN Art Award. In addition, the curator of the Prospects section of the Mondriaan Fund will once again put forward 5 artists this year, presenting a selection of the most promising talents in the exhibition. 

The four nominees for the NN Art Award 2026 will be announced in early February. 

Festive award ceremony at Kunsthal Rotterdam
The winner of the NN Art Award 2026 will be announced during a festive evening at Kunsthal Rotterdam on Friday 27 March. Following the ceremony, all exhibitions at the Kunsthal, including the NN Art Award presentation, will be freely accessible to attending guests. 

About Nationale-Nederlanden
Nationale-Nederlanden (part of NN Group) is an international financial services provider with a long-standing tradition of supporting art and culture. NN is the main partner of Kunsthal Rotterdam and a partner of Art Rotterdam.

Written by Flor Linckens