Award Winners:
Murshida Arzu Alpana / Dafni Barbageorgopoulou / Roland Boden / Angelika Boeck / Hubertus Giebe / Jens Hausmann / Kavata Mbiti / Tanja Ostojić / Heike Ruschmeyer / Manuela Sambo / Manuela Warstat

What does the awarding of a prize signify? How is it possible to weigh up highly diverse artistic positions against each other? What does the selection of one art type and the associated exclusion of others indicate about the art canon?

In the spirit of greater transparency and a more welcoming aesthetic culture, in 2020 the Falkenrot Prize – which has been awarded since 2005 – will go to all 11 nominated artists. As a statement of commonality, the programme directors at Künstlerhaus Bethanien as well as its supporters have decided to focus on the autonomous strategies of strong individuals this year.

Construct Your Stories is founded on promises of the strong self, causing the hallucinations of the globalized “we” to fade. Each position receives justice in various resonating chambers of the artistic imagination and not in a single echo chamber of fake eulogies. Such a non-expendable sign moves away from the 19th-century cult of genius, from the elevation of unique inspiration, and the idolization of the luxurious. In this way, a schematic can grow that illuminates the construction of the prize itself, keeping it open to the future.

On the occasion of the exhibition the catalogue Falkenrot Prize 2020: Construct Your Stories, edited by Künstlerhaus Bethanien, will be published.