The 2025 Singulart Prize is still ongoing, and we couldn’t be more excited to have a distinguished panel of jurors from around the world joining us on this journey. The main purpose of The Singulart Prize 2025 is to recognize and celebrate artistic talent from around the world. With this prize we want to highlight our artists’ dedication to creativity and their capacity for transformation of contemporary art. The Singulart Prize 2025 builds new bridges while showcasing artists’ works to the world, with this year’s theme being “Deeply Human”.
In this article we would like to introduce you to one of 2024 Singulart Awards jurors- Emily Olek. Emily is the Curatorial Assistant in the Department of Drawings and Prints at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (MoMA). A truly passionate expert in art history with a sharp eye for detail, Emily Olek has all the necessary wealth of expertise on our jury panel. In this interview with her, we discuss contemporary art, her curatorial journey, and what she enjoys most about the Singulart Prize 2025 this year.
Could you introduce yourself, share a bit about your background, and explain your role at Moma?
My name is Emily Olek, I am a Curatorial Assistant in the Department of Drawings and Prints at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. My role is in assisting the curators with creating and coordinating exhibitions for the museum as well as in proposing acquisitions within our department.
You were part of the jury for the Singulart Award 2024 dedicated to “Limited Editions”. What motivated you to take on this role, and why do you believe editions are such an important part of contemporary art?
When I was approached about participating on this jury I was excited about the opportunity to engage with a new breadth of artists internationally. I am always glad to see what work contemporary artists are engaging with and the new ways they are developing their print practices.
What key qualities make a print stand out, and what conditions need to be met for a print to be considered for inclusion in a museum collection?
From my point of view, prints can stand out based on either subject or skill. There are instances where I see a work and am immediately engaged by the scene of the subject displayed but most often I find that when a printer has really honed in their printing techniques, that alone will draw me in.
For artists considering creating limited editions, what do you see as the main benefits of this practice, both in terms of artistic expression and career development?
I think the practice of creating limited editions is really valuable given its opportunity for artist experimentation and really creating a sort of rarity in a practice. However, I think also having work that is created in a broader variety helps with both exposure and accessibility of audiences to your work. Furthermore, having a balance between the two is necessary, in my opinion, for career developments. I think artistic expression, on the other hand, can be achieved no matter the edition size.
With the Singulart Prize 2025 introducing a new category for Best Limited Edition, what piece of advice would you give to applicants?
The best advice I can give is this: no matter what scale or size edition you are working on, make sure it speaks to your larger point of view as an artist. Be consistent and genuine to your voice.
For us, the 2025 Singulart Prize is so much more than just an award: it is evidence of our commitment to championing the extraordinary creative work of 21st century artists and introducing them into global markets. Our partnerships with esteemed jurors like Emily Olek not only ensure that each submission gets the experience and insight of a great jury, but will help build bridges between artists, curators, and the art loving community.
During this year’s Prize, as we look forward to witnessing how art continues to transform, we are excited to see what the artists are submitting and we cannot wait to introduce you to this year’s Prize jurors in the upcoming articles. It is always a pleasure for Singulart to showcase the talent that drives change in the art world today.
