South African artist Diane Victor has been awarded the 10th Mario Avati Engraving Prize 2025 by the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris. Her work is currently the subject of an exhibition at the Académie des Beaux-Arts, which runs until May 31, 2026.
Victor's recognition highlights the international reach of politically engaged art from South Africa. Her complex, allegorical prints and drawings, which use classical technique with materials like soot and ash, critically examine the enduring social and political legacies of apartheid, systemic violence, and identity tensions, bringing these urgent themes to a major European institutional platform.