Jointly organised by Kunsthalle Wien, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the University of Applied Arts Vienna, it is awarded annually by a jury of experts to a graduate of each of the universities. Now in its tenth year, the prize is intended to support recent graduates, building a bridge between academic study and professional practice, while bringing the work of these artists to a broader public. The selected artists each receive a € 3,000 prize, with the kind and generous support of Kunsttrans and smc Steirer Mika & Comp., in addition to a production budget towards the exhibition at Kunsthalle Wien Karlsplatz in 2025. The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication with texts by Alicja Melzacka and Rijin Sahakian. A public programme of artist talks, guided tours and other events will be hosted alongside the exhibition by Kunsthalle Wien’s art education team.
For this year’s prize, the jury reviewed more than 100 diploma and masters projects from the fields of visual and media art. Over 50 graduates of each, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the University of Applied Arts Vienna, submitted their work for consideration.Two artists were selected to hold a joint exhibition at Kunsthalle Wien Karlsplatz opening in January 2025:
Rawan Almukhtar studied Art and Intervention | Concept at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and was awarded the Kunsthalle Wien Preis for his two-part installation HIJRA – Queering Borders and DUKHANIA – The Protesting Archive. The exhibition will present paintings and drawings that take inspiration from his experiences as a refugee and an activist. The paintings from the series HIJRA capture the stories of refugees he met on his own journey to Vienna. Another work, DUKHANIA (‘tear gas’ in Arabic) documents the actions of protestors against the Iraqi government. Through these bodies of work, Almukhtar seeks to create a collective moment of witnessing the stories of those who have been overlooked in Western Europe, while also questioning the ways in which such people should be considered.
Ida Kammerloch studied TransArts at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and was awarded the Kunsthalle Wien Preis for the video installation ULTRA ALL INCLUSIVE. The Kremlin Palace Hotel located in Antalya – which replicates the architecture of the Moscow Kremlin – provides the backdrop for the artist’s diploma work. The video moves from room to room providing an unsettling exploration of a utopia designed for wellness and relaxation, while physically resembling a place of immense power, and for most, also a place of political terror.
Rawan Almukhtar (b. 1991, Baghdad) has exhibited his work at fjk3 – Raum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Vienna (2023); Künstlerhaus Vienna; mumok – Museum of moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna; WIENWOCHE – festival for art and activism, Vienna; Dschungel, Vienna; WUK – Werkstätten- und Kulturhaus, Vienna (all 2022); Raumschiff, Linz; Brunnenpassage, Vienna (both 2020). His work has been nominated for various awards, including the Belvedere Art Award, Vienna (2023 and 2022); the Exile Visual Arts Award by the Körber-Stiftung, Berlin (2023); and the Ishtar Award for Young Artists from the Iraqi Fine Arts Association, Baghdad (2015).
Ida Kammerloch (b. 1991, Izhevsk) has held exhibitions and screenings of her work at ok transit, Vienna (2024); Kunsthalle Düsseldorf; Städtische Galerie Neunkirchen (both 2023); Städtische Galerie Hannover; Kunstmuseum Bonn (both 2021); Hilbertraum, Berlin; Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken; and Kubus Bochum (all 2020). She has been awarded various scholarships by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport (BMKOES); Neustart Kultur (all 2022); DAAD, Moscow (2020); and she was awarded the Peter and Luise Hager Prize (2017) as well as second place in Ö1 Talentestipendium (2024). Kammerloch is currently participating in the Cité Internationale des Arts Paris residency.
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