The Artists of Tomorrow Award is a unique project which provides young visual artists under the age of 35 the opportunity to produce new work, be part of a tailored education process, have meetings and presentation for an international jury, and a have a joint exhibition with the finalists at Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina, but also to travel to the United States and experience New York’s dynamic art scene for a two month residency at Residency Unlimited, and have a solo exhibition at Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina after returning from US.

The Artists of Tomorrow Award is part of the Young Visual Artists Awards program - a network of ten similar awards organized throughout Central and Eastern Europe founded in 1989 in Czechoslovakia by President Vaclav Havel and dissident artists with the intention of supporting the emergence and development of contemporary art and civil society.

The intention of President Havel, Wendy W. Luers, the US organizers and funders was to award young artists with a US residency - that is to expose them to the outside world - and to underscore the role of culture in democratization and civil society. They established an open and transparent annual competition judged by an independent and changing jury without the nepotism and favoritism. This founding mission and programmatic framework - to promote contemporary art, recognize and award artistic excellence, foster cultural exchange, and build capacity of local art NGO’s and civil society – is also a guide for Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina to implement The Artists of Tomorrow Award in Kosovo.

In 2015 Residency Unlimited (RU) became the new host of the Young Visual Artists Awards (YVAA) program in US. In September 2015, Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina has been tasked to assume leadership of the Artist of Tomorrow Award (AOT) in Kosovo starting with the first cycle in 2016 and with building upon and carrying forward the legacy of the Award.

Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina aims to enhance the potential and influence of The Artists of Tomorrow Award in the general developments in contemporary art in Kosovo.