AMSTERDAM, WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao-born visual artist and filmmaker Kevin Osepa has been awarded the Prix de Rome Visual Arts 2025, one of the Netherlands’ most prestigious art prizes. The award was presented by State Secretary Koen Becking and includes a monetary prize of €60,000.
The jury honored Osepa for his new work Lusgarda, taking into account his full artistic oeuvre. Lusgarda is a large-scale installation centered on the disappearing Curaçaoan mourning ritual Ocho Dia, the eight-day period following a burial. According to the jury, the work is “overwhelming and deeply moving,” elevating both the familiar and the hidden to a highly poetic level.
Through a distinctive visual language, Osepa connects individual and collective grief to universal themes such as loss and the fading of cultural traditions. The jury praised his ability to translate deeply rooted local rituals into works with international resonance.
Describing Osepa as an artist who can compete at the highest international level, the jury called him a major promise for the future of contemporary art. The other nominees for the 2025 edition were Fiona Lutjenhuis, Thierry Oussou, and Buhlebezwe Siwani.
Works by all nominated artists will be on display at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam through March 15, 2026. The Prix de Rome Visual Arts is awarded by the Mondriaan Fund, which supports outstanding talent in the visual arts in the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.