artist in spotlight
Supporting artists at a vital moment in their professional trajectory
Artist in Spotlight is a selective, approximately one-year curatorial residency offering focused institutional support and international visibility to highly innovative and influential artists.
Artistic merit establishes the case
Timing shapes the moment.
approach & focus
Artist in Spotlight supports artists whose work is ready to be seen, heard, and understood by wider audiences.
Grounded in exceptional artistic merit and guided by timing, the program creates the conditions for significant work to reach the public internationally. Through focused engagement with a small number of artists, the Foundation also seeks to set a model and precedent for those still in development.
how it works
Each year, five to ten artists are identified by the Foundation's artistic leadership in close collaboration with trusted institutional partners. Artists are considered by invitation; nomination affirms that an artist meets the standard for consideration, but does not constitute admission to the program.
The final selection is made by the Honorary and Advisory Boards through independent review. They consider both the exceptional artistic merit of the artist's work and whether this is the right moment for focused engagement.
When more artists meet the program's standard than can be fully supported in a single cycle, a nomination may be carried forward. This reflects timing, not artistic rank or value.
Identification & Selection
The Residency
Selected artists enter an approximately one-year residency. It begins with a close examination of the artist's body of work, existing development strategy, and planned engagements.
Working directly with the artist and their professional ecosystem - including managers, agents, publicists, and labels - the Foundation defines a tailored strategy and the aims of the residency.
Throughout the residency, the Foundation provides strategic and practical support across fundraising, financing, production, communications, market expansion, media visibility, and overall positioning.
Regular working sessions keep the process focused and responsive. Where needed, the Foundation brings in specialist collaborators to help turn the residency's aims into concrete action.
from concept to execution
During the residency, the artist and their work become a central focus of the Foundation's communications and engagement with its partners.
The purpose is not only to create visibility within the residency year, but to lay the groundwork for the artist's long-term development, international positioning, and public impact beyond it.
visibility & long-term impact
Through the Foundation's partners and the member foundations of the Global Impact Circle, artists gain access to a highly localized and expanding international network.
This network helps connect the artist and their work with relevant institutions, festivals, galleries, concert halls, record labels, media, and other cultural partners across different regions.
international engagement
recipients
Marc Migó
Artist In Spotlight 2025
A Catalan composer acclaimed for his emotionally resonant and innovative orchestral works. A graduate of The Juilliard School, he has received numerous accolades, including the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award and the Leo Kaplan Award.
His debut symphony, Conspiranoia, premiered in November 2024 at the Berliner Philharmonie with Metamorphosen Berlin, conducted by Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. The work delves into themes of modern paranoia and conspiracy theories through intricate soundscapes
Lera Auerbach
Artist In Spotlight 2024
AHF marked the beginning of Lera Auerbach's residency by co-commissioning ”Flights of the Angakok” Symphony, which premiered in 2023 at Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam. The AHF team oversaw the production of the ”Vessels of Light” sculpture at NOACK Bildgiesserei (Berlin, Germany) and its unveiling at the Berlin premiere of the homonymous symphony in October 2024—part of the Creative Portrait series at Konzerthaus Berlin, which features eight concerts of Lera’s music during the 2024-2025 season.