Dorothea von Stetten Art Award

In September 1984, the patron of the arts Dorothea von Stetten (1913–2011) established the sponsorship award for young artists which bears her name. She was active as an exhibition director at the American Embassy in Bonn, as well as numbering among the founding members of the Bonner Kunstverein. She was particularly enthusiastic about the works of young artists, to whom she sought to give a platform with the art award, in order to increase their visibility. The financial grant, which is awarded every two years, is oriented towards artists who are just starting their careers and whose artistic work appears promising, so that exciting developments can be expected in the future. The candidates are nominated by a committee of art experts. A jury selects from this group three finalists who present their works in a group exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Bonn. On the day the exhibition opens, the jury announces the recipient of the Dorothea von Stetten Art Award, with its grant of 10,000 euros.
Up through 2012, the support was directed exclusively to artists residing in Germany. Since 2014, the award has been oriented towards the young art scenes in Germany’s neighboring countries such as the Czech Republic, Denmark or Switzerland, thereby establishing an international focus.

Among the award recipients since 1984 have been Thomas Florschuetz, Gregor Schneider, Tamara Grcic, Nicole Wermers, Katinka Bock, Massar Sohail and Hannah Weinberger.

Bonn Art Prize

The BONN ART PRIZE established in 1985 for artists from the surrounding region older than 25 years is awarded every two years and includes a grant of 10,000 euros. Since its revised concept in 2009, the Bonn Art Prize has also involved a three- to six-month international working stipend in a European city freely chosen by the recipient. Since 2019, the stipend has been supported by Dr. Stephanie and Wolfgang Bohn with a sum of 10,000 euros, with which the stipendiaries can finance their time abroad. In addition, the Bohn couple  provides a further 5,000 euros to make possible a purchase from the Bonn Art Prize exhibition for the collection of the Kunstmuseum Bonn.

Ausgezeichnet

The exhibition series AUSGEZEICHNET (“Excellent”) is an exhibition format conceived jointly with the Stiftung Kunstfonds. Every autumn since 2016, former stipendiaries of the Kunstfonds have been selected to display their works in a room amid the collection of the Kunstmuseum Bonn. The first participants were Mischa Leinkauf and Matthias Wermke, who documented their Action Art through photographs and videos. For the second installment of the exhibition series in 2017, the photographer Victoria Binschtok reflected upon the medium of photography. With Frauke Dannert in 2018, the focus was on works involving installation and collage. In 2019, Agnes Meyer-Brandis conducted artistic investigations in the border area between art and the natural sciences. The current edition with the artist Sung Tieu will open in October 2021.