Art Prizes
Hans Molfenter Prize
The Hans Molfenter Prize established by the state capital of Stuttgart is endowed with 16,000 euros and was first awarded in 1983. The prize is financed by the estate assets of the Stuttgart painter Hans Molfenter (1884–1979), which were invested in a fund. The prize, initially conferred biennially, has since 1995 been awarded triennially to artists who have a connection to southwestern Germany and have been recognized for outstanding artistic work.
The award ceremony is accompanied by an exhibition organized by the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart.
Previous prize winners
1983 Ben Willikens | 1985 Hans Schreiner | 1987 K.R.H. Sonderborg | 1989 Horst Antes | 1991 Anton Stankowski | 1993 Günter Behnisch | 1995 Walter Stöhrer | 1998 Dieter Krieg | 2005 Rebecca Horn | 2008 Joan Jonas | 2011 Georg Winter | 2016 Tino Sehgal | 2019 Katrin Ströbel
2019 prize winner: Katrin Ströbel
Katrin Ströbel’s drawings, photographs, installations, and performances are based on a questioning of architectural, social, and urban conditions. Her artistic activity reflects the history, function, and sociopolitical connections between the sites where her works are produced and where they are presented. Many of Ströbel’s pieces thus engaged in a dialogue with the venue at which her work is being exhibited.
Ströbel was born in Pforzheim in 1975. She studied visual art and literary studies at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart and subsequently earned a doctorate in art history at the University of Marburg. She lives in Marseille, Rabat, and Stuttgart and has taught at the Villa Arson, école nationale supérieure d’art in Nice since 2013. Ströbel has been represented internationally for many years in numerous solo and group exhibitions as well as projects. Extended work stays and travel grants have taken her to Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa along with Australia, Peru, and the United States.
Kubus. Sparda Art Prize
The "Kubus. Sparda Art Prize" was established jointly by the Sparda Bank Baden-Württemberg and the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart in 2013 and is endowed with 20,000 euros. The prize is awarded every two years.
The "Kubus. Sparda Art Prize" is distinguished by two special features. First, it honors an outstanding artistic achievement, regardless of the artist’s age. The prize is thus neither an encouragement award for younger artists nor one granted in recognition of an artist’s life achievement. As such, it is meant to preserve an open view of the broad range of artistic production in Baden-Württemberg. The only prerequisite for participation is that artists have a biographical link to the state—whether it be by birth, education, or residence. Second, prior to the prize ceremony, the nominated artists present selected works together in an exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. The show allows the public to become acquainted with the nominiees artistic work in an unbiased way before the jury decides the winner at the end of the exhibition period.
Since 2015 the Sparda Bank has also offered a public-choice award in addition to the jury prize.
Previous prize winners
2013 Alexander Roob | 2015 Peter Vogel | 2017 Myriam Holme | 2019 Armin Linke