DESTINATION: ART
The art collector Agnes Essl travelled for two weeks together with a group of jurists to the capitals of Bulgaria, Croatia,
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. While there, they gained an intensive insight into the respective
young art scenes. The jurors had to select two prize-winners from ten nominations per country, whose work was presented in
specifically prepared exhibitions. The international jury did not take the decision lightly. Burning questions were discussed
in direct confrontation with the art: What social, societal, political and economic themes are young students dealing with?
Do the cultural identities of one’s own country, ecological aspects or gender discourses play a role? What constitutes the
artistic quality and originality of a work?
The Essl Art Award CEE offers the opportunity of gaining an immediate insight into current happenings at the art academies
of seven different cultural landscapes of Europe.
THE ESSL ART AWARD CEE HOW IT WORKS
The Essl Art Award CEE was initiated by the collector couple Agnes and Karlheinz Essl in 2005 in order to support art students
in the countries where bauMax operates. Since then, the prize has been awarded every two years. The jury, chaired by the internationally
recognised expert for art from the CEE countries René Block, is composed of one member from each participating country and
two votes from the Essl Museum. The prizes are endowed with €3,500, and additionally one winner per country receives a special
invitation from the Vienna Insurance Group.
Together with the works of the four collector’s invitations, which the collector Prof. Agnes Essl has additionally selected
for praise during the journey, the prize-winning works of the 14 artists will be presented at a joint exhibition in the Essl
Museum. Some artists have created new works specifically for this. All forms of artistic media are represented alongside
painting, this time the emphasis seems above all to be on videos and installative works.
As well as in the exhibition in the Essl Museum, from late spring 2012 the prize-winners of the Vienna Insurance Group special
invitations will be presented in their own exhibition at the group headquarters in Vienna, for which they receive a production
fee of €1000.
bauMax
As a family company in the construction and do-it-yourself sector, bauMax is active as a market leader in nine countries in
central and south-eastern Europe from the Swiss to the Syrian borders. With more than 150 sites, bauMax pursues the vision
of “making living affordable”, and in the process helping people to design their homes according to their own ideas.
“We see art as an opportunity to reflect on themes that touch us as human beings, from social interconnections to the environment
to the economy. At the same time, art encourages the creativity of our workers, which is good for us in commercial competition,”
says KR Martin Essl (bauMax CEO).
VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP
The Vienna Insurance Group is one of the leading international insurance companies in central and eastern Europe and is active
in 24 countries in the region. The group is a reliable sponsor of cultural and artistic projects and a long-time partner of
the Essl Museum. “Support for art and cultural projects is deeply rooted in our company philosophy and has a long tradition
in our group. With our commitment in this area we would like to contribute to the realisation of artistic projects in Austria
and central and eastern Europe, and thereby to the preservation of the cultural heritage. At the same time we are helping
to create space for artistic development and so are promoting young artists in the region,” says Dr. Günter Geyer, chairman
of the board of directors of the main shareholders of the Vienna Insurance Group.
1. Prize winners of the ESSL ART AWARD CEE 2011
Teodora Axente (RO), Emıke Bada (HU), Albena Stefanova Baeva (BG), Josef Bareš (CZ), Suzana Brborović (SLO), Ana DuŃia (RO),
Anett Hamori (HU), Elena Kaludova (BG), Magdaléna Kuchtová (SK), Sabina Mikelić (HR), Martin Mrzljak (HR), Maja Rožman
(SLO), Roman Štětina (CZ), Milan Vagač (SK)
Collector‘s Invitations
Martina Holá (CZ), Patrícia Jagicza (HU), Pavle Pavlović (HR), Larisa Sitar (RO)
Jury
Vanja Babić (HR), René Block (D), Gábor Ébli (HU), Silvia Köpf (Essl Museum), Romelo Pervolovici (RO), Zora Rusinová
(SK), Igor Španjol (SLO), Jiri Svestka (CZ), Maria Vassileva (BG), Eva Wirlitsch-Essl (Essl Museum)
Exhibition management: Silvia Köpf, Johanna Langfelder