Afrotopia | Athi-Patra Ruga
Rencontres de Bamako - Mali

Awarded by the Malian Ministry of Culture, this prize is awarded to Athi-Patra Ruga, whose work is presented in the the Pan-African exhibition. 


Born in 1984, in Umtata, South Africa. He lives and works in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. Exploring the boundaries between fashion, performance, and contemporary art, Athi-Patra Ruga reveals and subverts the body in relation to structures, ideologies, and politics. An internationally recognized artist, his work has been exhibited at the Moscow International Biennale for Young Art (Russia), 2012, as part of the South African pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale, 2015, and at the Fondation Louis Vuitton (Paris, France), 2017. He held his most recent solo exhibition at the Bass Museum of Art in Miami (United States) in 2016. He is represented by the In Situ Gallery-Fabienne Leclerc, Paris (France) and WHATIFTHEWORLD/Gallery, Johannesburg/Cape Town (South Africa).

More information here.