Sebastian Mikołajczak wins Teylers Museum Numismatic Art Prize

The Polish artist Sebastian Mikołajczak (1975) is the third winner of the quinquennial Van der Veen/Teylers Museum Prize for the Contemporary Art Medal. The € 10,000 prize will be presented during the opening ceremony of an exhibition of Mikołajczak’s work at Teylers Museum on 8 June 2023.

Commentary on current events
Besides Mikołajczak, four other artists were nominated for the prize, in alphabetical order: Jennifer Hoes (Netherlands), Keiko Kubota Miura (United States of America), Natasha Ratcliffe (United Kingdom) and Virág Szabó (Hungary). The jury, consisting of Philip Attwood (former head curator of the Collection of Coins and Medals, British Museum, and president of the International Art Medal Federation, FIDEM), Jan Pelsdonk (curator of the numismatic collections of Teylers Museum), Marjan Scharloo (former director of Teylers Museum) and Tetsuji Seta (previous winner of the Prize; Japan), ultimately chose Mikołajczak as winner. His work is distinctive for the unexpected use of the widest possible variety of shapes and materials. His medals also frequently comment on current events.

Sebastian Mikołajczak, The Child’s World. 2019, bronze, 100 mm

Jaap van der Veen/Teylers Museum Prize for the Contemporary Art Medal
The prize is a major international award for contemporary numismatic art and goes to an artist whose work shows promise for the future. The prize consists of 10,000 euros, a publication and a presentation at Teylers Museum. Jaap van der Veen, who passed away early in 2022, established the prize, together with Teylers Museum. The museum holds a unique collection of medals, the basis of which was established by the museum’s founder, Pieter Teyler van der Hulst (1702-1778). He determined his money should be used to stimulate the arts (including numismatics) and sciences. Earlier winners of the prize were Tetsuji Seta (Japan, 2017) and Otakar Dušek (Czech Republic, 2012).