Styrian State Prize for the Promotion of Contemporary Fine Arts Art Space Styria

From its beginnings to the present day, the Styrian State Prize for Contemporary Fine Arts has acted as a seismograph of a lively art scene, which has performed essential positioning work for the state and its artists for several generations. Quite a few internationally renowned artists from Styria can be found in the archives of this competition, which was first held in 1959.

The tried and tested procedure of entrusting the selection of the prizewinners and the curation of the exhibition to a renowned external curator is not only due to the requirement of objectivity, but also contributes positively to refining the cultural networks between Styria and its European neighbors. Several of the award's curators were already associated with the Neue Galerie Graz and have curated exhibitions here. Through the sponsorship award, they also came into contact with local artists, which sometimes resulted in further connections.

On the other hand, residencies in other countries correspond more than ever to the reality of artists' lives and are actively supported in Styria through special funding programs. 

Thanks to the cosmopolitan interplay on an artistic and curatorial level, this competition has always stood for a concentrated presentation of contemporary visual art in Styria at a high international level.

In keeping with this traditional format, the Kunstraum Steiermark exhibition will take place in parallel, where Styrian participants in the various studio programs and foreign scholarships of the Department of Culture will present their works in the 2023/24 scholarship period. Thus, at the end of 2025, the Neue Galerie Graz will experience a focus on contemporary art with artists from Styria or closely associated with it, once again demonstrating the diversity and creativity of the local art scene.

Both formats are supervised and curated by Marlies Schöck and Peter Peer