Whether painting, sculpture, performance, sound art, or video installation – this year’s winners of the Federal Prize for Art Students once again provide diverse insights into current production at the art universities and academies of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The exhibition is a tour d’horizon through the recent production of young artists and their engagement with current social issues. The artists, who are gathered here from all over Germany in a group exhibition, deal with socio-ecological and political topics, as well as with very personal themes, such as mourning, identity, empathy, and empowerment. The works on display in three exhibition rooms of the Bundeskunsthalle provide a fresh perspective and offer a new approach to making complex social and private issues tangible.

The Federal Prize for Art Students is a biennial competition of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The twenty-four German art universities and academies each nominate two artists, from whom an independent jury selects the winners. The Federal Prize is endowed with a total of 30,000 euros in prize money and 18,000 euros in production grants, both which are divided equally among the winners.

The jury for the 26^th Federal Prize for Art Students consisted of Fatima Hellberg (Director, Bonner Kunstverein), Anna Nowak (Artistic Director, Kunsthaus Hamburg), and Christiane Mennicke-Schwarz (Artistic Director, Kunsthaus Dresden), who selected the six artists exhibited here.

The prize-winners are:
Talya Feldman, Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Hamburg
Michael Fink, Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin
Rahel Goetsch, Hochschule für Bildende Künste – Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main
Hanna Kučera, Dresden University of Fine Arts
Óstov Collective, Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig
Su Yu Hsin, Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig

The catalogue, poster, and website www.kunst-wettbewerb.de were designed by the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design.