ART PRIZE GERMANY 2024/25
Greeting from Heinrich Prince of Hannover

It is a great honor for me to be able to take over the patronage of the ART PRIZE DEUTSCHLAND 2024/25. The motto of the art prize: “Art powers future” coincides with my vision of a forward-looking, powerful society as well as a historically anchored humanistic culture. As in previous years, art can challenge our future – and as before, we want to discuss art with artists.

We call on artists from Germany and abroad to have their submitted works in the disciplines of painting, sculpture, photography/digital art viewed by an independent jury. In the actual sense, it is not about awarding an art prize in the manner of a competition, but rather about questioning and possibly activating our ways of seeing and thinking. Together we want to experience art and enliven our future with it.

Every generation seeks change in art, which does not simply reflect the spirit of the times – as is always claimed – but rather, through its creative achievements, contributes to the creation of what we interpret as the spirit of the times. With its visionary sensitivity, art itself is often a harbinger and scout, a seismograph of impending new “quakes”.

Embarking on unknown paths through art also means approaching the future with an open mind. “Art powers future”! Visual artists see themselves as mediators who develop new forms of visual representation in order to achieve new insights and a new understanding of reality. For the awarding of the Germany Art Prize 2024/25, I wish everyone involved a lot of joy in the art that connects us so much as humans.

Heinrich Prince of Hannover
Duke of Braunschweig and Lüneburg
Royal Prince of Great Britain and Ireland

ART PRIZE GERMANY 2023/24
Greeting from Dr. Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate

Every person, every city, every country and every continent has its story. And to a large extent, these stories shape the image we create of ourselves and of those around us. Our cultural heritage makes us who we are. It determines our worldview and our worldview determines our actions.

All cultures are in constant change. Basically, all civilizations and cultures are amazing hybrids. Historically speaking, they developed through exchange and synthesis, through the encounter of different peoples, religions and philosophies. The different cultures of this world have never been pure, self-contained units that developed out of themselves.

“Probably nothing in the world has to endure more nonsensical remarks than a painting in a gallery,” said Edmond de Goncourt. So what can one say publicly about art? “Have the courage to use your own reason,” Kant said. I would add: Stand by your feeling, even if it doesn’t agree with that of the general public.

When we feel joy and creative excitement, we will always find a way to express ourselves. In order to sing, one must first have a song in one’s heart. If you then really want to write a poem, you write it, in whatever form. But then what is art? “Becoming human is an art”, the poet Novalis reminds us!

Dr. Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate