Centre Pompidou and Fondazione Bonotto Launch Prize for Experimental Poetry

Key facts

• The Prix Littéraire Bernard Heidsieck – Centre Pompidou is a new award for experimental literature beyond the book.
• The prize is named after Bernard Heidsieck, who defined 'hors-livre' literature.
• The award is supported by the Fondazione Bonotto.
• The prize will be presented on September 6, 2017, during the Extra! festival at the Centre Pompidou.
• Extra! is a contemporary version of the historic Polyphonix festival, directed by Jean-Jacques Lebel from 1979.
• The prize has three categories: Prix d'honneur, Prix de l'année, and Mention Spéciale Fondazione Bonotto.
• The Mention Spéciale includes a one-week residency at Fondazione Bonotto in Molvena to create a tapestry with Bonotto Spa.
• The winning artist will have access to the Luigi Bonotto Collection.
• The tapestry will be exhibited at the Centre Pompidou during the following year's Extra! festival.
• The Fondazione Bonotto holds one of Europe's most important collections of Concrete, Visual, and Sound Poetry.
• Luigi Bonotto built the collection through connections with Dick Higgins and Emmett Williams.
• The prize honors over a century of avant-garde literary experimentation.