Meriem Bennani wins EYE Art & Film Prize

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Meriem Bennani wins EYE Art & Film Prize | The Eye Filmmuseum has announced New York-based video and installation artist Meriem Bennani as the winner of the 2019 EYE Art & Film Prize. Bennani was born in Morocco and her work looks at life in North Africa and Middle East as well as themes of gender, religion and migration. She received the award of £25,000 at a gala held at the museum in Amsterdam yesterday.

Antonio Asis (1932–2019) | The Argentinian painter and printmaker Antonio Asis has died. From 1956 Asis lived in Paris, where he co-founded the Position group with other Argentinian artists exploring light and movement in their work. His geometrically abstracted works are closely aligned with the Op art movement.

Brooklyn Museum launches $25,000 prize for emerging artists | The Brooklyn Museum has announced that it is launching the annual UOVO Prize, which will award $25,000 to an emerging artist based in Brooklyn. The prize also includes a commission to decorate the Bushwick branch of UOVO, an art storage company. The inaugural winner will be announced in June.

Fire at Brazil’s National Museum caused by air conditioning unit | The Brazilian police have stated that the fire that gutted Brazil’s National Museum in Rio de Janeiro on 2 September was primarily caused by an air conditioning unit. The extent of the damage has obscured the reason why the unit first caught fire, but it is thought that it received a greater electrical current than it had been designed to withstand.

Recommended reading | Christopher Knight criticises the $650m renovation currently taking place at LACMA, which he terms ‘the Incredible Shrinking Museum’, in the Los Angeles Times. Artist Cj Hendry makes the case for Instagram art to Alisha Haridasani Gupta in the New York Times.