The Essl Art Award CEE 2013 gives international visibility to up-to-the-minute tendencies in the young European art scene. After the call for applications at the art academies of Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, the Slovak and Czech Republics, Hungary and, for the first time, Istanbul, Turkey, the fifth Essl Art Award CEE received applications from more than 500 art students who aspired to a place in the so-called “Nominees’ Exhibitions” and wanted to win this coveted young-talent award.

Established by the Austrian art collectors Agnes and Karlheinz Essl, the ESSL ART AWARD CEE is organised in close co-operation with experts, museums and art academies from the eight participating countries and from Austria. With this award, Mr. and Mrs. Essl demonstrate their commitment to the support of young artists and provide an inspiring incentive for young talents.

“Apart from the generous financial endowment, what distinguishes this award from others is particularly the serious-mindedness and professionalism with which it is carried out. The set-up is unique in that exhibitions are organised in every country to present the works of the 10 shortlisted nominees. The jury holds its discussions and then takes a decision in front of the actual paintings, objects, sculptures, installations or film and video works. To my mind, that illustrates how respectfully the founder of the award approaches art in general and new talents in particular.”

René Block, Chairman of the Essl Art Award CEE Jury

Nominees’ Exhibitions

From the more than 500 applications, the jury, consisting of experts from the participating countries and Austria, shortlisted 10 nominees per country whose work will now be presented in the “Nominees’ Exhibitions” scheduled for May 2013 in all participating countries.

On the opening night, or “Nominees’ Night”, two artists in each country will receive the ESSL ART AWARD CEE. In addition, one of the two will be offered a VIG Special Invitation, sponsored by Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein, main shareholder of VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP.

The works of the young artists presented in the context of the ESSL ART AWARD CEE in the Nominees’ Exhibitions raise a number of topical questions: What are the current developments at art universities? What social, societal, political and economic issues are important to young artists? Are they motivated by ecological concerns and the gender discourse? Is there a focus on particular media, and does painting still hold significance for the young generation?

The works on show cover a wide range of media, including drawing, painting, installations, photography and new media.

Nominees’ Night in Bucharest

In Bucharest, the Nominees’ Night will be held on 28 May 2013 at 7 p.m. at the Victoria Art Center. Opening speakers include Petru Lucaci (Victoria Art Center), Andreas Hoffer (jury member Essl Museum), Romelo Pervolovici (jury member Romania) and Sergiu Loghin (OMNIASIG VIG, Board Member).

The nominees for the Romanian ESSL ART AWARD CEE are Alin Bozbiciu, Vladimir Buburuzan, Raluca Croitoru, Daniel Nicolae Djamo, Carmen Dobre, Andreea Floreanu, Lucian Indrei, Mădălina Lazăr, Andrei Mateescu und Andra Nedelcu. The Nominees’ exhibition will take place at the Victoria Art Center from May 28 to June 23, 2013.

The ESSL ART AWARD CEE

Each of the 16 winners of the ESSL ART AWARD CEE (two artists per country) receives EUR 3,500 and takes part in the exhibition >Transcending Cultures< held from 06 Dec 2013 until 02 March 2014 at the Essl Museum. The exhibition will be accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue which presents the artists and their work and also serves as a launching pad to give the young artists international visibility.

In addition, the main shareholder of VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP will extend a Special Invitation to one of the two winners at the Nominees’ Night. The invitees will be able to exhibit their work at the Ringturm building in Vienna – the headquarters of the company.

Jury ESSL ART AWARD CEE

Vanja Babić (HR), René Block (D), Gábor Ébli (HU), Andreas Hoffer (Essl Museum), Johanna Langfelder (Essl Museum), Romelo Pervolovici (RO), Zora Rusinová (SK), Lora Sarıaslan (TR), Igor Španjol (SLO), Jiří Švestka (CZ), Maria Vassileva (BG), Eva Wirlitsch-Essl (Essl Museum)

A priority concern: supporting young artists – the art collectors Agnes and Karlheinz Essl

Inaugurated in 1999, the Essl Museum is Austria’s largest privately run museum and home to one of Europe’s most significant collections of contemporary art with more than 7.000 works of art.

Back in the 1950s, the art collectors Agnes and Karlheinz Essl discovered their passion for contemporary art. A very successful business career that took off at a breath-taking pace with the foundation of the bauMax company enabled them to build an important art collection. It has always been of prime importance for the couple to make their collection available to the public at large. The museum presents international exhibitions, solo exhibitions of top artists and considers art education a priority.

It has always been an important part of the commitment of the Essl family to support young artists, an intention that has been translated into reality with the >emerging artists< series and the ESSL ART AWARD CEE.

bauMax – Partner of Many Years

Established 36 years ago in Austria, bauMax is a family undertaking with an international presence. Today, bauMax is active in nine countries with a total of 159 stores, its business footprint extending from Austria to Turkey. In Central and Eastern Europe, bauMax is the market leader in the DIY sector with a brand recognition rate of 90%. In sum total, its stores cater to appox. 50 million customers per year.

Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein and VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP – Partners of Long Standing
For many years, the Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein and VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP have been co-operating with the Essl Museum. This year they will again support the ESSL ART AWARD CEE together with bauMax. The following VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP companies participate in the event: Kvarner, Helios and Erste osiguranje in Croatia; Wiener Städtische in Slovenia; Kooperativa, Česká podnikatelská pojišt’ovna and Pojišťovna České spořitelny in the Czech Republic; Kooperativa, Komunálna and Poisťovňa Slovenskej sporiteľne in the Slovak Republic; Union Biztosító and Erste Biztosító in Hungary; Omniasig,  Asirom and BCR Leben in Romania; Bulstrad Leben and Nichtleben in Bulgaria; as well as Ray Sigorta in Turkey. This is the first time that Turkey is represented at the ESSL ART AWARD CEE as the eighth country.

VIG Special Invitation – the Young Talent Award of Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein

This is the third time that the VIG Special Invitation – a support project established by the VIG main shareholder Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein in 2009 – will be extended to artists within the context of the ESSL ART AWARD CEE. In each participating country, one of the two ESSL ART AWARD CEE winners will receive the additional distinction of the VIG Special Invitation which is endowed with EUR 1,000 per head. In the spring of 2014, the invitees will get the opportunity to participate in a special exhibition at the Ringturm exhibition centre at the company headquarters of VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP and Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein, and they will be asked to create a work specifically for this event.

“Supporting art and cultural projects is an integral part of our corporate philosophy and a tradition of long standing. With our support of the ESSL ART AWARD CEE we can contribute to promoting the developing of the young creative art scenes in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe where Vienna Insurance Group is active. As a company that does successful insurance business in the region we consider it part of our corporate social responsibility to promote the diversity of cultural life”, says Dr. Günter Geyer, CEO of VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP.

Listed on the stock exchanges of Vienna and Prague and headquartered in Vienna, VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP (VIG) is one of the leading insurance groups in Central and Eastern Europe. With a staff of approx. 24,000, VIG offers innovative insurance schemes and excellent service to its customers in 24 countries of the region. Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein is the main shareholder of VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP and supports the group in all cultural and social matters. A top priority lies on cross-border cultural exchanges which create leeway and opportunities for cultural development.