ars viva is an annual art prize awarded by the Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft to emerging artists under the age of 35 who are living and working in Germany, regardless of nationality. Established in 1953, the prize was initiated to support artists in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, aiming to contribute to the development of contemporary art. Recipients are nominated and selected by a jury of professionals in the visual arts. The award includes prize money and a series of exhibitions showcasing the winners' works at prominent German and international venues, accompanied by the publication of a bilingual exhibition catalog. Over the decades, ''ars viva'' has recognized more than 350 artists, many of whom have achieved international acclaim, positioning the award as one of the most important art prizes in the Federal Republic of Germany. Notable recipients include

Georg Baselitz Georg Baselitz (born 23 January 1938) is a German Painting, painter, Sculpture, sculptor and Graphic arts, graphic artist. In the 1960s he became well known for his Figurative art, figurative, expressive paintings. In 1969 he began painting his ...

, Anna Oppermann,

Albert Oehlen Albert Oehlen (born 17 September 1954) is a German painter, installation artist and musician. He lives and works in Bühler, Switzerland and Segovia, Spain.

Rosemarie Trockel Rosemarie Trockel (born 13 November 1952) is a German conceptual artist. She has made drawings, paintings, sculptures, videos and installations, and has worked in mixed media. From 1985, she made pictures using knitting-machines. She is a pro ...

Candida Höfer Candida Höfer (born 4 February 1944) is a German photographer. She is a renowned photographer known for her exploration of public spaces and architecture. In her career she transitioned from portraiture to focusing on spaces like libraries and m ...

Marina Abramović Marina Abramović ( sr-Cyrl, Марина Абрамовић, ; born November 30, 1946) is a Serbian conceptual and performance artist. Her work explores body art, endurance art, the relationship between the performer and audience, the limit ...

Thomas Ruff Thomas Ruff (born 10 February 1958) is a German photographer who lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany. He has been described as "a master of edited and reimagined images". Ruff shares a studio on Düsseldorf's Hansaallee, with fellow German ...

Wolfgang Tillmans Wolfgang Tillmans (born 16 August 1968) is a German Fine-art photography, photographer. His diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations. Tillman ...

John Bock John Bock (born 1965 in Schenefeld, Germany) is a German artist. He studied in Hamburg, Germany and lives and works in Berlin. Work Bock is a multi-media artist primarily known for his performances. Since 1991, he creates environments hand cr ...

Thomas Demand Thomas Cyrill Demand (born 1964) is a German sculptor and photographer. He currently lives and works in Berlin and Los Angeles, and teaches at the University of Fine Arts, Hamburg. He makes photographs of three-dimensional models that look like ...

Omer Fast Omer Fast (; born in Jerusalem, 1972) is an Israeli contemporary artist. Early life and education Born and raised in Jerusalem, Fast spent much of his teenage years in New York. He received his BFA from a dual-degree program at Tufts Universit ...

Mariana Castillo Deball Mariana Castillo Deball (born in 1975, Mexico City) is a Mexican visual artist currently based in Berlin. She works primarily in installation, sculpture, photography and drawing. Early life and education Castillo Deball studied in the Universida ...

Nina Canell Nina Canell (born 1979) is a sculpture and installation artist born in Växjö, Sweden and educated at the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dublin, Ireland. She currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany Work Nina C ...

, and Sung Tieu.

Residency

From 2016, all prize winners can participate in an artist residency in Canada due to the Fogo Island Arts residency program partnership with ars viva.

Award winners

Source: 1953: Egon Altdorf, Jürgen Brandes, Harald Duwe, Johann-Georg Gey 1954: Ursula Arndt, Herrmann Bachmann, Ernst Dostal, Joachim Dunkel, Erwin Eichbaum, Carl-Heinz Kliemann, Harry Kögler, Helmut Lang, Heiner Malkowsky, Clemens Pasch, Jörn Pfab, Karl Stachelscheid, Helmut Verch, Eva Großberg, Karl Wennig 1955: Walter Brendel, Klaus Frank, Paul Ibenthaler, Helmut Lander, Irene Merz, Hermine Müller, Karl Potzler, Horst Skodlerrak, Eberhard Schlotter, Gotthelf Schlotter, Günther Schoregge, Dieter Stein, Hans Steinbrenner, Rudi Tröger, Wilhelm Uhlig, Joachim Wermann, Alfred Winter-Rust, Paul Wunderlich, Thomas Zach 1956: Klaus Arnold, Hal Busse-Bendixen, Michael Croissant, Wolfgang Dahncke, Roland Dörfler, Irene Goethert-Merz, Jürgen von Hündeberg, Paul Kamper, Hans Kock, Bernd Krimmel, Hans Metz, Günter Neusel, Dieter Rudolph, Brigitte Jonelat-Saebisch, Ernemann F. Sander, Willi Wernz, Gerhard Wind, Reiner Zimnik 1968: Georg Baselitz, Jürgen Erasmus Schlammer, Hans-Wolfgang Lingemann, Gerwalt Kafka, Tessa Traut 1969: Roberto Cordone, Rolf-Gunter Dienst, Wolfgang Göddertz, Karl-Hermann Käppel, Hans-Günther van Look, Karl Vogelsang 1971: Dieter Asmus, Peter Nagel, Dietmar Ullrich, Nikolaus Störtenbecker, Hede Brühl, Jobst Meyer, Claus Böhmler, Peter Nettesheim, Alf Schuler, Norbert Tadeusz 1977: Wolfgang Finck, Theo Lambertin, Gerhard Merz, Anna Oppermann 1978:

Gerald Domenig Gerald Domenig (born 1953 in Villach) is an Austrian artist. He lives and works in Frankfurt am Main. Life and Work Gerald Domenig studied from 1972 to 1973 at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under Rolf Sackenheim and from 1974 to 1978 at the St ...

, Ralph Fleck, Christian Hanussek, Nicole van den Plas, Rolf Zimmermann 1979:

Katharina Sieverding Katharina Sieverding (born 16 November 1941) is a German photographer known for her self-portraiture. Sieverding lives and works in Berlin and Düsseldorf. She is a professor emeritus at the University of the Arts, Berlin. Early life and educati ...

1982:

, Uwe Laysiepen, Barbara Hammann, Klaus vom Bruch,

Marcel Odenbach Marcel Odenbach is a German video artist. In the 1970s, with Ulrike Rosenbach and Klaus vom Bruch, he formed the producer group ATV. Odenbach's works criticize the conditions of German society. Life and work Odenbach was born in 1953 in Cologne ...

, Friederike Pezold, Frank Soletti, Peter Kolb 1983:

Albert Oehlen Albert Oehlen (born 17 September 1954) is a German painter, installation artist and musician. He lives and works in Bühler, Switzerland and Segovia, Spain.

, Volker Tannert, Hans-Peter Adamski, Max Neumann, Hyun-Sook Song, Elisabeth Wagner,

Troels Wörsel Troels Wörsel (November 10, 1950 - December 12, 2018) was a Danish painter active in Cologne and Pietrasanta. Biography Troels Wörsel was born in Aarhus, Denmark. He was self taught. In the 1970s, he moved to Cologne and became interested in p ...

1984: Helmut Dorner, Lutz Fritsch, Clemens Kaletsch, Axel Lieber, Mechthild Nemeczek, Peter Telljohann, Claude Wall 1985: Rosemarie Trockel, 1986: Ludger Gerdes 1987: Candida Höfer, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth 1989: Rupprecht Matthies 1990: Mischa Kuball 1991/1992: Meuser 1993/1994: Leni Hoffmann 1994: Karin Sander 1995: Wolfgang Tillmans, Thomas Demand 1996: Dirk Skreber, Corinne Wasmuht 1997: Heidi Specker, Daniel Pflumm 1998:

Kai Althoff Kai Althoff (born 1966 in Cologne) is a German visual artist, painter, and musician. Life and work Kai Althoff was born in Cologne, West Germany, in February 1966. Althoff has been a long-time friend with Michael Karoli, a member of Cologne k ...

, Manfred Pernice, Torsten Slama, Sean Snyder,

Lothar Hempel Lothar Hempel (born 1966 in Cologne) is a German artist based in Berlin. He attended Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 1987 to 1992. Artistic practice Hempel transforms the exhibition space into a stage on which the visitor becomes an actor in a st ...

1999:

, Christian Flamm, Andree Korpys, Markus Löffler, Johannes Spehr 2000: Christoph Keller,

Natascha Sadr Haghighian Natascha Sadr Haghighian is an artist known for assuming multiple identities. Her official press releases and gallery biographies conflict on country of origin, date of birth, and place of residence. Her work is primarily concerned with investiga ...

, Ute Hörner and Mathias Antlfinger, Jeanette Schulz 2001: Desirée Heiss, Ines Kaag, Jesko Fezer, Axel John Wieder, Katja Reichard, Johannes Wohnseifer 2002: Amelie von Wulffen, Daniel Roth 2003: Jeanne Faust, Omer Fast 2004: David Zink Yi, Peter Piller, Katja Strunz 2005: Jason Dodge, Takehito Koganezawa, Michaela Meise,

Robin Rhode Robin Rhode (born 1976) is a South African artist based in Berlin, Germany. He has made wall drawings, photographs and sculptures. Early life and education Rhode was born in Cape Town, South Africa. He studied fine art at Technikon Witwaters ...

2006/2007: Andrea Faciu,

Beate Gütschow Beate Gütschow (born 1970 in Mainz, West Germany) is a contemporary German artist. She lives and works in Cologne and Berlin. Life and work Gütschow studied art at the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg from 1993 to 2000, and at the Oslo Nation ...

, Michael Sailstorfer 2008:

Keren Cytter Keren Cytter (; born 22 August 1977) is an Israeli visual artist and writer. Biography Cytter, born 22 August 1977, spent her childhood in Israel and went on to study visual arts at the Avni Institute of Art and Design, Tel Aviv. After finding ...

, Manuel Graf, Simon Dybbroe Møller,

Tris Vonna-Michell Tris Vonna-Michell (born 1982) is a British artist who performs narratives and constructs installations through the layering of these narratives, photographs and mementos, presented using antiquated technologies and slide projection. Vonna-Michel ...

2010:

, Klara Hobza, Andreas Zybach, Markus Zimmermann 2011: Erik Bünger, Philipp Goldbach, Juergen Staack 2012: Simon Denny, Melvin Moti, Özlem Günyol & Mustafa Kunt 2013: Björn Braun, John Skoog, Adrian Williams 2014: Aleksandra Domanović, Yngve Holen, James Richards 2015: Flaka Haliti, Hanne Lippard, Calla Henkel & Max Pitegoff 2016: Leon Kahane, Jumana Manna, Jan Paul Evers 2017: Zac Langdon-Pole, Oscar Enberg, Anna-Sophie Berger 2018: Niko Abramidis & NE, Cana Bilir-Meier, Keto Logua 2019: Karimah Ashadu, Thibaut Henz, Cemile Sahin 2020: Rob Crosse, Richard Sides, Sung Tieu 2021: Tamina Amadyar, Lewis Hammond, Mooni Perry 2022: Paul Kolling, Leyla Yenirce, Shaun Motsi 2023: Atiéna R. Kilfa, Dan Lie, caner teker 2024: Wisrah C. V. da R. Celestino, Vincent Scheers, Helena Uambembe 2025: Nazanin Noori, Ryan Cullen, Prateek Vijan Note: The year refers to the year of the award ceremony. However, the award will be presented for the following year.

Exhibition history

Source:{{Cite web , title=ars viva , url=https://arsviva.kulturkreis.eu/en , access-date=2025-04-12 * ars viva 2026:

Marta Herford MARTa Herford is a contemporary art museum in Herford, Germany. Building and history The idea for the museum formed in 2000, drawing from Herford's status as a German center of furniture and home furnishing production. The name ''MARTa'' i ...

(March - June, 2026), Kunstverein Braunschweig (December, 2026 - February, 2027) * ars viva 2025:

Kunsthalle Bremen The Kunsthalle Bremen is an art museum in Bremen, Germany. It is located close to the Bremen Old Town on the "Culture Mile" (). The Kunsthalle was built in 1849, enlarged in 1902 by architect Eduard Gildemeister, and expanded several more times, ...

(October 2024 - January 2025),

Haus der Kunst The ''Haus der Kunst'' (, ''House of Art'') is a museum for modern and contemporary art in Munich, Bavaria. It is located at Prinzregentenstraße 1 at the southern edge of the Englischer Garten, Munich's largest park. It was built between 1933 an ...

(June - September, 2025) * ars viva 2024: Wilhelm-Hack-Museum (October - December, 2023) * ars viva 2023: Goethe-Institut Paris (September - November, 2022),

(May - July, 2023) * ars viva 2022: Brücke-Museum (September - November, 2021), Kai Art Center (April - August, 2022) * ars viva 2021:

Museum Angewandte Kunst The Museum Angewandte Kunst (MAK) is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and is part of Frankfurt's Museumsufer (Museum Riverbank). The alternating exhibitions recount tales of cultural values and changing living conditions. Beyond that, the ...

(October, 2020 - March, 2021), Kunstverein Hannover (November, 2021 - January 2022)

References

German visual arts awards Awards established in 1953 1953 establishments in West Germany