Steve McQueen Wins 2016 Johann Vermeer Prize

Filmmaker and artist Steve McQueen has been awarded the 2016 Johann Vermeer Prize, a Dutch government prize established in 2008 to support contributions to national culture. The announcement was made by Dutch Minister of Culture Jet Bussemaker. McQueen, who has lived in Amsterdam for most of the year since 1997 and is married to Dutch art critic Bianca Stigter, will receive €100,000 to fund new creative projects. He is not the first non-Dutch-born winner: previous laureates include Pierre Audi (2009), Marlene Dumas (2012), and others. The jury was chaired by Ernst Hirsch Ballin and included Irma Boom, Claudia de Breij, Ann Demeester, and Stephan Sanders. The award ceremony will take place on November 7, 2016. McQueen's previous honors include the Turner Prize (1999), the Caméra d'Or at Cannes for Hunger (2008), and two Oscars for 12 Years a Slave (2013).