ADKV / ART COLOGNE Prize for Art Criticism 2025
Public call for entries for the
ADKV / ART COLOGNE Prize for Art Criticism 2025
Closing date for entries 15 June 2025
The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine (ADKV) invites independent critics in the field of contemporary visual arts to participate in an open call for entries for the ADKV-ART COLOGNE Prize for Art Criticism 2025. The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros.
By awarding the prize, the ADKV honours the commitment of independent art critics who deal with contemporary art and its social context in the specialist and daily press or in other media and emphasises the important role of criticism in the communication of sophisticated art. Art organisations in particular, with their focus on the production of contemporary art, are dependent on cultural journalism that develops and describes independent quality criteria and innovative text forms.
The prize is aimed at freelance authors who publish in German and can provide evidence of regular German-language publications. However, half of the texts submitted may also be written and published in English. Translations must be labelled.
The ADKV-ART COLOGNE Prize for Art Criticism has developed into an award that is recognised throughout the German-speaking world. The ADKV has been awarding the prize since 1999, since 2006 in co-operation with ART COLOGNE.
Application: by e-mail to kunstkritik [at] kunstvereine.de
Closing date: 15 June 2025
Please submit the following documents - in a PDF document of max. 10 MB:
Four published work samples from the last three years, including:
two shorter art criticism texts* up to 6,000 characters in length
one longer art criticism text* up to 12,000 characters in length
one longer monographic text about an artist or an art criticism essay
*All genres of art criticism are possible, e.g. exhibition review, column, commentary, feature, etc.
The keystrokes are counted with spaces. All texts must have been published in a print medium or a national online medium.
Please also enclose
a list of the submitted texts with details of publication (when/where)
max. 1 A4 page biography
max. 1 A4 page bibliography (selection)
Once all the documents have been received, a jury will select the winner on the basis of the submissions. The award winners will be announced in consultation with ART Cologne, which will produce short image films for the award winners for the first time in 2025.
The award winners from previous years
Martin Conrads (2024), Oliver Körner von Gustorf (2023); Magdalena Kröner (2022); Noemi Smolik (2020); Antje Stahl (2019), Radek Krolczyk (2018); Kito Nedo (2017), Jörg Scheller (2016); Stefan Kobel (2015); Barbara Buchmaier und Christine Woditschka (2014); Astrid Mania (2013); Kolja Reichert (2012); Jens Kastner (2011); Jennifer Allen (2009); Rudolf Schmitz (2008); Ludwig Seyfarth (2007); Catrin Lorch (2006); Dominic Eichler (2005); Gregory Williams (2004); Raimar Stange (2003); Renate Puvogel (2002); Jan Verwoert (2001); Stefan Römer (2000); Hans-Christian Dany (1999)
contact: presse [at] kunstvereine.de