Oskár Čepan

Jury Statement: The artistic practice of Norbert Kuki resists easy categorization, and that resistance is itself part of its integrity. Moving across social sculpture, activism, rap and merchandise, his work is not primarily concerned with being polished or validated by art institutions - it is concerned with proximity, exchange and the refusal to be spoken for. What the jury recognised in his portfolio is something harder to manufacture than a refined aesthetic: a genuinely non-fetishizing engagement with the Roma community from within, built through sustained exchange rather than the kind of brief, extractive encounter that so often produces tokenistic or reductive representations. Kuki's work carries within it a universality of displacement that resonates across diasporas far beyond its immediate context. The jury values the ethical seriousness and the social urgency that animate his practice.

Norbert Kuki (1999, Dunajská Streda, SK) is a Roma artist from Slovakia. He graduated from the Department of Intermedia at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava. Having a background in visual arts and music (hip-hop/rap), Norbert views art as a quest for Roma identity, a means to preserve, distribute and contextualize Roma culture. His art is based on Romani language, stories and legends he explores from various angles. Lately, his attention has turned to questions arising from the designation of a language as official, translation, globalisation and the role of music in language preservation.

His recent exhibitions include Dym a Zrkadlá, Pálffy Palace, Bratislava; POV YOLO WIP TBA 2, Tranzit, Bratislava; (nem) beállni a sorba, Artus Studio, Budapest; B5 Artist Residence Programme; Magma – Contemporary Medium, Sfântu Gheorghe, Covasna, Romania (all 2025); Preteká, Pistori Palace, Bratislava; I am the Balm on Sisyphus' Lips, DKP, Bratislava (both 2024); ArtMarket Budapest (Gandy Gallery); SKÚTER VI., Ján Koniark Gallery in Trnava; and the [fjúzn] Roots festival (all 2023). He completed an artist residency at B5 Studio in Târgu Mureș, Romania (2024). (Bio written by Judit Angel)

Portrait: Martin Lacko