[oberlist] Fwd: Werner Fenz Grant for Art in Public Space 2026

[Asociația Oberliht]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: steirischer herbst Press Office <press at steirischerherbst.at>
Date: Mon, May 12, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Subject: Werner Fenz Grant for Art in Public Space 2026
To: <info at oberliht.org>


Open call for art in public space—deadline: 12 August 2025

View online
<https://mailchi.mp/steirischerherbst/sh25-werner-fenz-grant-call?e=5df77b52db>
*Open Call—Werner Fenz Grant for Art in Public Space 2026*
<https://steirischerherbst.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2f4d9abb684390d669c129b22&id=58a995499e&e=5df77b52db>
Clara Ianni, *Resurrection* (2024), performance, photo: steirischer herbst
/ Henrik Bergstedt

*The City of Graz’s Cultural Affairs Department and steirischer herbst are
delighted to invite applications for the Werner Fenz Grant for Art in
Public Space 2026. Projects can be submitted until 12 August 2025.*

Endowed with 17,000 euros, the grant aims to assess the status of art in
public space, with an international jury selecting a temporary project
every two years. Initiated in 2020 in honor of late art historian and
curator Werner Fenz (1944–2016), the call is open for national and
international artists that address the cultural and political context of
Graz, Austria, in their submitted projects.

As an internationally renowned curator, theorist, and educator, Werner Fenz
founded the Institute for Art in Public Space Styria and combined theory
and practice in an uncompromising and exemplary manner, continuously
raising the profile of art in public space—in and outside of Graz. He was
closely associated with steirischer herbst and curated countless projects
at the festival.
  Goals and criteria

The grant promotes art that gives a critical impetus to public space and
social change, art that “assumes social responsibility” (Werner Fenz) and
seeks to engage citizens.

Projects can deal with economic, political, social, ecological,
architectural, or urban development issues. They should contribute to the
discourse on current forms of art in public space and address the
sociopolitical context of the city of Graz and the province of Styria.

The focus lies on temporary projects that infiltrate everyday life and
latch onto existing public structures.
  Endowment and award procedure

The grant is awarded biennially by the City of Graz and steirischer herbst.
It is endowed with 17,000 euros, of which 12,000 are dedicated to the
realization of the artwork and 5,000 to the artist’s fee.

The call is open to artists from all countries.

An international jury selects one of the proposals. It consists of five
members, one of whom belongs to the grant initiators’ committee.
Additionally, the jury contains two people nominated by steirischer herbst
and two nominated by the city’s cultural affairs department. The winning
project is selected by January 2026. The grantee is publicly announced in
spring and their work presented as part of steirischer herbst ’26
(September/October 2026).
  Production

The project is produced under the auspices of steirischer herbst and can
draw on the festival’s resources and considerable experience with art in
public space. On-site research as well as travel and accommodation of the
artist(s) during production in Graz are covered in addition to the
17,000-euro endowment as part of the grant.

Submission

   - submission form
   <https://steirischerherbst.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2f4d9abb684390d669c129b22&id=cb2e5416b2&e=5df77b52db>
   - project description (max. two A4 pages): content and technical
   aspects, visualization/sketch, information on duration and location, etc.
   - budget
   - portfolio with sample work (in public space), visual material, texts,
   etc., if not available online (website)
   - language of submission: German or English
   - all materials to be submitted as one PDF

*The deadline for submissions is 12 August 2025.*

Documentation

The project is documented in the context of steirischer herbst
<https://steirischerherbst.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2f4d9abb684390d669c129b22&id=063617e915&e=5df77b52db>
as well as on the Werner Fenz website
<https://steirischerherbst.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2f4d9abb684390d669c129b22&id=bd004b3401&e=5df77b52db>
.
  Collection of the Werner Fenz Grant at steirischer herbst

In 2024, steirischer herbst started the collection of the Werner Fenz Grant
at steirischer herbst and purchased originals from ten selected artists who
applied for the grant. This collection grows in tandem with the biennial
grant and includes preparatory material relating to their application such
as drafts or sketches. In 2026, steirischer herbst aims to acquire material
by ten additional artists for the collection.
  Previous grantees

The Werner Fenz Grant 2021 was awarded to Hannes Zebedin for the project *Die
Brücke*
<https://steirischerherbst.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2f4d9abb684390d669c129b22&id=382fabd1d4&e=5df77b52db>
(The Bridge), realized in 2022. In 2023, it was awarded to Clara Ianni’s
project *Resurrection*
<https://steirischerherbst.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2f4d9abb684390d669c129b22&id=d265b16f2f&e=5df77b52db>,
realized in 2024.


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+43 316 823 007 65
press at steirischerherbst.at
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