Yanma Fofana clinches the first Maison Perrier Art Prize, gaining mentorship, a Ghana residency and a €40,000 award.
The cultural world welcomed the launch of the Maison Perrier Art Prize this year, a competition designed to amplify emerging voices on an international stage. The prize, backed by the luxury brand MAISON PERRIER®, promises a blend of financial support, professional mentorship and a platform for artistic experimentation.
After a rigorous selection process involving curators, museum directors and prominent critics, the inaugural award was presented to French painter Yanma Fofana. Her work, rooted in the language of painting, explores the fragile moments of family life while interrogating themes such as temporality, memory and erasure.
Announcement of the inaugural prize and winner
In a ceremony that highlighted the prize’s global ambitions, Fofana was announced as the recipient of the Maison Perrier Art Prize 2026. The decision was guided by the vision of artist mentor Amoako Boafo who praised Fofana’s “clear and personal vision” and expressed excitement about supporting her next creative steps.
The award ceremony also introduced a collaborative packaging project that will debut in 2027, featuring limited-edition designs by both Boafo and Fofana.
Artist Yanma Fofana and her artistic vision
Born and trained in France, Yanma Fofana has built a reputation for marrying a strong narrative sensitivity with a refined contemporary aesthetic. Her canvases often depict intimate domestic scenes, yet they resonate beyond the personal by touching on collective experiences of loss, remembrance and the passage of time. Critics have noted how her palette and compositional choices evoke both nostalgia and a subtle sense of erasure, positioning her work at the intersection of personal memoir and broader cultural commentary.
The jury, mentorship and prize components
The selection panel assembled for the inaugural edition comprised an international roster of art-world leaders: Laurent Le Bon, president of the Centre Pompidou; Cathia Lawson-Hall, co-founder of the Centre Pompidou’s Africa Acquisitions Committee; Fabrice Bousteau, editor-in-chief of Beaux-Arts Magazine and Le Quotidien de l’Art; Thomas E. Moore III, executive director of the American Friends of the Louvre; and Jimena Blázquez Abascal, director of the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo in Seville, Spain. Their assessment highlighted Fofana’s singular voice and her potential to shape future dialogues in contemporary art.
Residency in Accra
As part of the prize package, Fofana will spend six weeks at dot.ateliers in Accra, Ghana. The residency is designed to foster cross-cultural exchange, offering her access to local artists, studios and community projects. This immersive experience aligns with the prize’s goal of encouraging artists to engage with diverse environments and broaden the scope of their practice.
Packaging collaboration for 2027
Beyond the monetary award of €40,000 the winner receives the opportunity to co-design a limited-edition MAISON PERRIER® bottle. The collaboration will run parallel to a similar project led by mentor Amoako Boafo, allowing both artists to translate their visual languages onto a commercial canvas and reach a worldwide audience when the bottles launch in 2027.
In her own words, Yanma Fofana expressed deep gratitude: “I am profoundly honored to receive the inaugural Maison Perrier Art Prize. This recognition means a great deal to me, and I am grateful to MAISON PERRIER®, Amoako Boafo and the entire jury for their trust. The award provides a valuable encouragement for the continuation of my artistic practice and research.”
