A word from Jean-Pierre Greff – Director, Head

Jean-Pierre Greff

« This ongoing initiative by Head – Geneva is based on some firmly held beliefs. We are convinced that our responsibility does not end with success in the Masters degree. It continues notably in the many bridges we strive to build with the professional art world, throughout the curriculum, of course, and more intensively at that critical and decisive moment after leaving university. Such activities are beyond the means and legitimacy of the academic institution alone ; they only become meaningful and possible through partnerships founded on close collaboration.

A cautious encounter followed by extensive dialogue with the managers of the Fondation BNP Paribas led to the creation of this new Prize, entitled New Heads – Fondation BNP Paribas Art Awards, for our Masters in Fine Arts graduates. Although prestigious from the outset and despite the fact that our graduates already have socialized practices through exhibitions and publications, this prize is not awarded for recognized work. Instead, commending promise, it ventures-and this is what makes it unique-into the limbo of emerging art, in the sense that it heralds, even in the least assured of its endeavours, a future in the making. By supporting deliberately disconcerting, even disturbing propositions, the BNP Paribas Foundation is taking a gamble… that may pay off. It adopts the position of a committed patron in all cases and is a significant contributor to the vitality of the widely and keenly watched Geneva art scene. »

Jean-Pierre Greff

Director, Head – Genève