The Abraaj Group Art Prize 2014 Exhibition Opening Chairwoman Savita Apte, curator Nada Raza, Abraaj Group founder Arif Naqvi, and 2014 winners: Anup Mathew Thomas, Bouchra Khalili, Basim Magdy, Kamrooz Aram, Abbas Akhavan Courtesy Art Dubai 2014
The Abraaj Group Art Prize 2014 Exhibition Opening Chairwoman Savita Apte, curator Nada Raza, Abraaj Group founder Arif Naqvi, and 2014 winners: Anup Mathew Thomas, Bouchra Khalili, Basim Magdy, Kamrooz Aram, Abbas Akhavan Courtesy Art Dubai 2014

Private equity investor Abraaj Group, the sponsor of Art Dubai’s Abraaj Group Art Prize, has announced a change in the prestigious award.

Until this year, artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia were invited to submit a proposal for a new piece and five winners had to share a US$100,000 production budget. The resulting works were then shown together in an exhibition at Art Dubai.

But things are about to get more competitive. Starting in 2015, only one project will be selected and will be funded with the full US$100,000 award. The winner will be offered a solo exhibition at the fair “to show their journey as an artist and how it has evolved,” explained Abraaj Group managing director Frederic Sicre during the Art Dubai press conference.

Next year will also see the launch of the Abraaj Group Innovation Awards. It will reward five artists with a scholarship to attend a postgraduate program at the Royal College of Art in London.

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