Yoko Ono to be awarded Austrian Kokoschka art prize

Musician, artist and Beatle widow Yoko Ono has been chosen as 2012’s winner of Austria’s Oskar Kokoschka art prize.

The jury chose Ono for her “artistic body of work and the dedicated socio-political positioning” and her “outstanding artistic personality” associated with the Fluxus movement in the ‘60s, according to a (statement from jury chairman Gerald Bast, director of the University of Applied Arts (via GoogleTranslate).

The prize, named after 20th century Austrian Expressionist painter and poet Oskar Kokoschka, was established in the year of his death in 1980 and is awarded biannually to outstanding contemporary artists and comes with a nifty €20,000.

Former winners include William Kentridge, Agnes Martin, Gunter Brus, John Baldessari and, in 2010, Raymond Pettibon, best known for his punk rock posters, the Black Flag logo, and Sonic Youth’s Goo cover art.

Ono will pick up her prize during a ceremony in March next year.