The Queen Sonja Print Award

A dream come true. This is how Her Majesty Queen Sonja herself has described the establishment of the Queen Sonja Print Award. After supporting art and culture for several decades, the Queen had the opportunity to establish her own scholarship to support graphic art.

The Foundation was established in 2011, and the Award was presented for the first time 14 June 2012.

The Foundation presents three awards every other year: the Queen Sonja Print Award, the QSPA Inspirational Award and the QSPA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Queen Sonja Print Award

The Queen Sonja Print Award has become the world’s leading award for graphic art and is presented every other year to an ambitious and promising artist who has excelled in the field of printmaking. A wide range of international professionals, curators, artists and art institutions nominate talented artists from all over the world for this prestigious prize.

It was a Nordic art award and the candidates originated from the five Nordic countries. From 2014, the award became an international distinction.

QSPA Inspirational Award

The QSPA Inspirational Award is awarded a Nordic artist who is currently pursuing, or has recently completed, his or her art education, and whose artistic practice makes active use of printmaking as an important means of expression. The grant is a collaboration between the HM Queen Sonja Art Foundation and master printer Bill Goldston at Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE) in New York.

The award was first introduced as the Kjell Nupen Memorial Grant in 2014, in commemoration of the Norwegian artist Kjell Nupen, who passed away earlier that year. The grant was renamed the QSPA Inspirational Award in 2018.

QSPA Lifetime Achievement Award

The QSPA Lifetime Achievement Award was presented for the first time in 2018 and honors artists for their outstanding careers and lifelong dedication to graphic art and printmaking. The first QSPA Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to the British David Hockney for his distinguished contribution to fine art printmaking.

QSPA Bispevika

In January 2021 the gallery QSPA Bispevika opened in Oslo. The gallery showcases and sells prints from selected artists, and also displays works by Her Majesty The Queen. The purpose of the venue is to create a space where graphic art is made accessible to a wider audience.

Organisation

The Foundation for the Queen Sonja Nordic Art Award was established on 14 January 2011 by Her Majesty The Queen in cooperation with artists Kjell Nupen, Ørnulf Opdahl and Ole Larsen.

The Queen has held the position of Chairman of the QSPA board since its foundation. She stepped down in January 2023, but still plays an active and significant role as a board member. The board also consists of Gry Mølleskog (director of the board), Anne Hilde Neset, Cecilie Malm Brundtland, Håvard Homstvedt, Magne Furuholmen, Thorhild Widvey, and Øivind Eriksen. The board members do not receive compensation. The managing director is Trude Gomnæs Ugelstad.

The foundation’s capital

In 2010, in cooperation with Norwegian artists Kjell Nupen and Ørnulf Opdahl and Atelje Larsen in Sweden, Her Majesty The Queen embarked on a project entitled Tre reiser – tre landskap (“Three journeys – three landscapes”). The Queen, Kjell Nupen and Ørnulf Opdahl created a collection of graphic prints to be put on sale. All proceeds from the sale of the prints went to the Foundation for the Queen Sonja Nordic Art Award and constitues - along with other gifts and contributions - the foundation’s capital.