Em’kal Eyongakpa, a Cameroonian artist has won the Henrinke Grohs award.

The Henrike Grohs Art Award, it should be noted,  is a biennial prize designed to continue Groh’s exceptional commitment to support artists in Africa and make a contribution towards international dialogue. It s awarded every two years to an artist or arts collective practicing visual arts.

It is this award that the 37 year old artist from Mamfe, South West Region in Cameroon, who combines photography, video, drawing, sculpture, poetry and sounds will be awarded, with a whooping F CFA 13 million on March 13 in Abidjan.

According to local news reports, Eyongakpa will be the first recipient to receive the award courtesy of Goethe-Institut and the Grohs family.

Organisers of the awards say Eyongakpa work expresses universal concerns of humanity. “The multidisciplinary stance of his practice, which includes knowledge derived from science, ethnobotany, magical realism, experimentation and utopia, aptly responds to the core values of the Henrike Grohs Art Award.”

Goethe-Institut president Klaus-Dieter Lehmann said: “I would like to congratulate the first prize winner Em’kal Eyongakpa with whom, after an intensive selection process, the judges have made an excellent choice.”