Pauli-Prize 2026   08.08. – 04.10.2026

Pauli-Prize 2026

In 2026, the Pauli-Prize will be awarded for the 50th time. The prize honours artists living in German-speaking countries for outstanding contributions to contemporary art and is considered one of the most important prizes for contemporary art in Germany. The competition exhibition, in which eight nominated artists will present their works, will take place at the Kunsthalle Bremen.

top row from left to right: Jan Albers (photo: Albrecht Fuchs), Christiane Baumgartner (photo: Werner Lieberknecht), Harry Hachmeister (photo: Harry Hachmeister, © VG Bild-Kunst, 2026), Annette Kelm (photo: Tobias Zielony, © VG Bild-Kunst, 2026) | bottom row from left to right: Caroline Kryzecki (photo: Kareen Kittelmann, © VG Bild-Kunst, 2026), Phung-Tien Phan (© Phung-Tien Phan), Liesl Raff (photo: Rania Moslam), Anike Joyce Sadiq (photo: Belaid LeMharchi)

The eight nominated artists for the Pauli-Prize 2026:

Jan Albers (*1971 in Wuppertal, lives and works in Düsseldorf), nominated by Felix Krämer, Managing Director and Artistic Director Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf

Christiane Baumgartner (*1967 in Leipzig, lives and works in Leipzig), nominated by Anna Wesle, Curator at Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf, Suisse

Harry Hachmeister (*1979 in Leipzig, lives and works in Berlin and Leipzig), nominated by Mathilda Legemah, Research Associate for Institutional Development at Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin

Annette Kelm (*1975 in Stuttgart, lives and works in Berlin), nominated by the Donors’ Circle for the Pauli-Prize, Kunstverein in Bremen

Caroline Kryzecki (*1979 in Wickede/Ruhr, lives and works in Berlin), nominated by Christoph Grunenberg, Director Kunsthalle Bremen

Phung-Tien Phan (*1983 in Essen, lives and works in Essen), nominated by Michelle Cotton, Director Kunsthalle Wien

Liesl Raff (*1979 in Stuttgart, lives and works in Vienna), nominated by Stefanie Böttcher, Director der Kunsthalle Mainz

Anike Joyce Sadiq (*1985 in Heidelberg, lives and works in Berlin und Nuremberg), nominated by Yvette Mutumba, Co-founder and director of Contemporary And (C&)


The Jury 2026:

Yilmaz Dziewior, Director Museum Ludwig, Cologne
Asta Gröting, Artist, Berlin
Roland Mönig, Director Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal
Susanne Pfeffer, Director Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main
Hilke Wagner, Director Albertinum, Dresden

The artistic positions have been nominated by six international curators as well as the Supporters’ Circle for the Pauli-Prize and the Director of the Kunsthalle Bremen. During the exhibition, a renowned five-member jury of experts will announce the winner. The prize will be awarded to the winner on 15 September 2026.

Previous winners include Gabriele Stötzer (2024), Karimah Ashadu (2022), Ulrike Müller (2020), Emeka Ogboh (2016), Nina Beier (2014), Daniel Knorr (2012), Thea Djordjadze (2009), Ulla von Brandenburg (2007), Clemens von Wedemeyer (2005), Tino Sehgal (2003), Olafur Eliasson (1997) and Wolfgang Tillmans (1995).

The Pauli-Prize, endowed with 30,000 Euros, was established in 1954 by the Roselius family (HAG AG) as the Prize of the Böttcherstraße and had been awarded annually in Böttcherstraße in Bremen. In 2024, the Prize of the Böttcherstraße was renamed and has since been known as the Pauli-Prize. Its name commemorates the first director of the Kunsthalle Bremen, Gustav Pauli (1866–1938). To this day, the museum owes its most famous works to Pauli's progressive acquisitions of modern art. Since 1985, the exhibition has been presented every two years at the Kunsthalle Bremen and is supported by the Supporters’ Circle for the Pauli-Prize.

Further information on the Pauli-Prize and the Supporters' Circle can be found here.