Achille Mbembe (b. 1957, Cameroon) is awarded the 2025 Spinozalens Prize in November 2025 in the Kunstmuseum, The Hague. The jury, chaired by prof. Huub Dijstelbloem (UvA) praised the rigorous, innovative and comprehensive way in which Mbembe’s oeuvre addresses the theme ‘future-proof solidarity’.
In its report, the jury described Mbembe’s oeuvre as ‘powerful’ and ‘constantly evolving’. He expresses his ideas on neocolonialism, digitalization, climate change and racism ‘with barely contained anger’ and holds up a mirror to us Europeans. But, according to the jury, he also articulates a message of hope, ‘hope that comes from the African continent’. The African Archive, as Mbembe calls the tradition of his continent, offers inspiration for a new relationship with each other, with other living beings and with the planet. And this is urgent because, according to Mbembe, the future of life, reason and the earth are at stake.
© Photo above: VPRO Tegenlicht 2015
