Pauli-Preis 2026

The eight artists nominated for the 2026 Pauli Prize:

Jan Albers (born 1971 in Wuppertal, lives and works in Düsseldorf), nominated by Felix Krämer, Director General and Artistic Director of the Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf

Christiane Baumgartner (born 1967 in Leipzig, lives and works in Leipzig), nominated by Anna Wesle, curator at the Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf, Switzerland

Harry Hachmeister (born 1979 in Leipzig, lives and works in Berlin and Leipzig), nominated by Mathilda Legemah, research associate for institutional development at the Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin

Annette Kelm (born 1975 in Stuttgart, lives and works in Berlin), nominated by the Pauli Prize Donors’ Circle

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

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

Liesl Raff (born 1979 in Stuttgart, lives and works in Vienna), nominated by Stefanie Böttcher, Director of the Kunsthalle Mainz

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

The 2026 Jury:

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

The Pauli Prize, endowed with 30,000 euros, has a long history: established more than 70 years ago by the Roselius family, it has owed its continued existence for over 40 years now to a group of dedicated members of the Kunstverein in Bremen. The private group of donors—comprising a small group of members of the Kunstverein, the Senator for Culture, and, since 1992, Sparkasse Bremen— not only funds the exhibition, the catalog, and the prize money, but also works to acquire a work by each prize winner for the Kunstverein’s collection.

The multi-stage selection process places great emphasis on transparency and neutrality: Six curators, the director of the Kunsthalle Bremen, and the Pauli Prize’s group of donors each independently propose one artistic candidate. These eight nominees present their works in the competition exhibition at the Kunsthalle Bremen. During the course of this exhibition, a jury composed of five additional art experts ultimately selects the winner.

Past 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).

Pricing Information
Regular: 12 €, Reduced: 6 €