The Erarta Prize is the first annual contemporary art prize judged by the viewers rather than by a closed board of experts. This premise is consistent with Erarta’s core philosophy: art is being created by the artist, but it is the viewers’ perception that makes it truly powerful. This makes the Erarta Prize essentially different from other art prizes, reflecting the key principles of Erarta Museum:

• any work of art is a product of joint effort of its creator and the viewer, thus making the viewer a vital part of the creative process;

• art speaks to everyone, and not just the professional community;

• sharing becomes the spirit of the present time, and contemporary art should keep up with it;

• it is more important to love art than to be able to judge it according to generally accepted criteria.

Helping people to grow to love contemporary art is a crucial part of Erarta Museum’s mission. In each year’s edition of the Prize, the viewers are encouraged to choose only one artwork out of the entire pool of works featured in the nominees’ exhibition according to their own choices and preferences. Erarta Museum acts as the curator of the annual nominees’ exhibition (by selecting the exhibits and staging the actual show), but neither takes part in determining the winners nor invites other experts from the professional community to do so.

Launched in 2023, the Erarta Prize was justly awarded the title of Project of the Year in the Arts Category by the Delovoy Peterburg daily business newspaper. The enthusiastic feedback received from everyone involved – artists and viewers alike – keeps this project going. The 2023 and 2024 Erarta Prize nominees continue to actively collaborate with the museum: some of their works were added to Erarta’s permanent collection, and several artists were invited by the Curatorial Team to have their solo exhibitions at Erarta, eight of which have been staged already. We are looking forward to new exciting discoveries!

The list of the 2025 Erarta Prize nominees has been unveiled on 17 December. The exhibition of their artworks will be held from 7 February through 8 June 2025. Erarta Museum invites everyone to take an active part in staging the exhibition and awarding the Prize – this is going to be unmissable!