Columbus Award for Contemporary Art

Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine (ADKV) has been cooperating partners with the Columbus Group since 2013. The jointly-awarded Columbus Award for Contemporary Art is a prize of 30,000 euros for an emerging artist at the end of their academic training or the start of their artistic career.

In awarding this prize, ADKV is supporting a target group that is traditionally advanced by Kunstvereine. Besides a monthly basic amount of EUR 1,000, which is paid to the prize winner over the course of six months, the award also includes a solo exhibition and accompanying exhibition catalogue or a website for the artist. Both are realized in close cooperation with an ADKV member association; the first prize exhibition and catalogue were realized in 2013. Each year, ADKV's Board of Directors selects a suitable art association within the framework of the award, whereby the artistic director of the chosen Kunstverein is also part of the jury. Considerations include both the art association’s spatial possibilities and the region in which it is located. The goal of this cooperation is to present the prize (and thus also the respective prize winner) at different institutions throughout the country.