Kölner Kulturpreis 2026

In the organizer's words:

On May 19, the festive award ceremony of the Cologne Culture Prize 2026 will take place at the COMEDIA Theater Cologne. The event starts at 7 pm, admission is from 6:30 pm.

Heide Häusler, Artistic Director and Managing Director of Internationale Photoszene Köln, will be honored as Cultural Manager of the Year 2025. Hans-Martin Müller, founder and director of LOFT Cologne and honorary member of the Cologne Jazz Conference, will receive the Cologne Cultural Council's honorary award.

Three projects are nominated in the "Young Initiative" category: HEAVY FEELINGS, KANAX4LIFE and the Macaroni Academy. The winner in this category will be announced at the award ceremony.

Ten projects have been nominated in the "Cultural Event of the Year 2025" category. The three nominees with the most votes from the online voting at Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger and Kölnischer Rundschau as well as the jury selection will be invited to the award ceremony - the winner will be announced at the event.

In addition, the Gerhart and Renate Baum Foundation's "Special Prize for Contemporary Music" will be awarded for the second time. This year's winner is Luise Volkmann - saxophonist, composer and jazz musician from Bielefeld. The foundation thus sets an example for the promotion of contemporary music and cultural education work in Cologne and honors innovative projects that are open to new forms and neighboring arts.