The nominees for the NN Art Award 2026 have been announced 

During the upcoming edition of Art Rotterdam, the NN Art Award will be presented for the tenth time. This prestigious incentive prize is awarded to an artist showing work at the fair who has completed their education at a Dutch institution. 

The award is not only a mark of recognition, but also offers artists support in further developing their practice. As part of the nomination, the work of all nominees will be on view at Kunsthal Rotterdam from 14 March to 25 May. 

This year’s professional jury, representing a broad perspective on the contemporary art field, consisted of: 

• Marianne Splint, General Director of Kunsthal Rotterdam
• Pris Roos, artist and winner of the NN Art Award 2025 
• Jacquill G. Basdew, socio-cultural initiator, curator and supervisory board member 
• Edo Dijksterhuis, freelance journalist for, among others, Het Parool and Museumtijdschrift 
• Maartje de Roy van Zuydewijn, curator of the NN Art Collection

They nominated the following four artists: 

Tina Farifteh (Tehran, 1982) is a photographer and filmmaker. In her work, she investigates how power structures affect the lives of ordinary people. She entices the viewer to look at subjects we would rather turn away from because they are complex or uncomfortable. For Document Nederland 2025, her project on the Dutch asylum system, Farifteh follows B., who, after more than four months in immigration detention at Schiphol and a stay in Ter Apel, enters the asylum procedure. By positioning B. as the narrator, Farifteh shifts our perspective on asylum processes. Rather than speaking about asylum seekers, she allows us to listen to them directly. In doing so, Farifteh holds up a mirror to the viewer: the work is not about them, but about us. Tina Farifteh is represented by Gallery Vriend van Bavink.

The work of Mandy Franca (Rotterdam, 1989) is an ongoing investigation into connectedness, drawing on her childhood in a cross-cultural environment and her personal memories. Franca examines and observes the significance of the everyday, granting lasting value to what may seem insignificant. As an artist, she subverts and questions the traditional use of printmaking by experimenting with a wide range of artistic media that come together in painting, iPhone photography, printmaking, drawing, collage, video, sound, sculpture and installation. Recurring elements are the photographic image and mark-making. Mandy Franca is represented by Night Café Gallery.

The practice of Fiona Lutjenhuis (Zevenaar, 1991) centres on depicting and reinterpreting the religious ideologies she grew up with in a village in North Brabant. Her parents were members of a sect based on a mix of theosophical ideas, esoteric cosmologies and beliefs in extraterrestrial life and supernatural beings. Lutjenhuis’ folding screens, drawings and murals function as carriers of stories. In a poetic way, she combines esoteric new age aesthetics with a range of visual influences drawn from comics, Japanese prints and medieval religious paintings. Fiona Lutjenhuis is represented by Galerie Fleur & Wouter.

Kyra Nijskens (Ulestraten, 1997) explores how humans influence and reshape ecological systems. Her work focuses on biofouling: the attachment of marine and micro-organisms to industrial structures such as ship hulls and underwater pipelines. Unnoticed, these organisms travel along shipping routes, settle and disrupt existing infrastructures. Her work also comments on logistical systems. Each year, 1,382 shipping containers are lost at sea, sometimes resulting in cargoes of Crocs or yellow rubber ducks polluting beaches. 

The winner of the NN Art Award will be announced on Friday 27 March 2026 during a festive gathering at Kunsthal Rotterdam.

Written by Flor Linckens