SIMACEK
ART AWARD
image: © leadersnet.at /C. M. Stowasser
The award is aimed at emerging contemporary artists at the beginning of their careers and is granted in collaboration with selected art universities in Austria and Germany. Each institution nominates up to six artists through four professors, from which four award winners are ultimately selected.
The aim is to make young artistic positions visible and to support them sustainably. The award includes a monetary prize as well as the opportunity to present the works to a wider audience through exhibitions and editions.
The SIMACEK ART AWARD was initiated in 2022 by Mag. Ursula Simacek, Managing Partner of the SIMACEK GROUP. It originates from a long-standing engagement with contemporary art, which developed out of a personal passion for collecting. A particular focus lies on the emerging art scene – its diversity, experimental approaches, and the development of new artistic positions.
With this award, Ursula Simacek aims not only to support artists through the acquisition of works, but to provide a sustainable platform for their development. The award is specifically dedicated to emerging artists at the beginning of their careers and offers concrete opportunities through financial support, visibility, and professional networking.
The award is realised in collaboration with ARTCARE, the Vienna-based platform for young and contemporary art. Together, a framework is created that highlights artistic quality and fosters exchange between artists, institutions, and the public.
All award winners receive an equally endowed prize of €4,000 (plus 20% VAT) and produce an exclusive graphic edition for the SIMACEK GROUP (format 50 × 65 cm, edition of 20 + 5 artist’s proofs, as silkscreen or digital print). The production costs are fully covered.
The SIMACEK GROUP’s commitment exemplifies an approach that combines entrepreneurial responsibility with cultural engagement, aiming to make a sustainable contribution to contemporary art and cultural diversity in Austria.
Chronic
2025
2023
2022
Courtesy: © Chorong Moon, precessed, 2025
Courtesy: © Nanna Kaiser, Skinned sky utopian try, 2023
Courtesy: © Hiu Tung Ching, Untitled, 2021
JURY
Four professors nominate particularly outstanding artistic positions from among their students, graduates, and alumni of the past three years. From this selection, four award recipients are chosen. The ceremonial announcement of the four main winners takes place during the award ceremony.
The most recent award ceremony took place on May 22, 2025, at the Künstlerhaus Factory in Vienna. The next edition of the award is scheduled for 2027.
A distinctive quality of the SIMACEK ART AWARD is its jury, which consists of four renowned professors (and artists) from art academies in Vienna, Linz, and Munich, alongside Ursula Simacek and Raimund Deininger.
© images: Wolfgang Reichel, Susanne Stemmer © MUMOK, Philipp Horak for profil.
I have now had the honor of serving as a jury member of the Simacek Award for the third time. It is very important to me to support and give visibility to this sponsorship award for young artists from various art universities. Especially at a time when artistic work often takes place under precarious conditions, it is all the more crucial to create spaces of recognition and encouragement for emerging artistic positions. A truly important initiative.
Veronika
Dirnhofer
The evaluation focuses on the contemporary relevance and the artistic quality of the overall work. A key criterion in the selection of the award winners is the significance and resonance of the work in relation to current global developments.
Peter
Kogler
SIMACEK ART AWARD 2025 © leadersnet.at /Moderation: Carola Wachholder, Camera/Cut: Andreas Kalz
New voices in contemporary art
The award is conceived as a funding instrument for artists at the beginning of their careers and is particularly aimed at positions emerging from the academic environment in Austria and Germany. Its objective is to make current artistic developments visible and to situate them within a broader art-historical and professional context.
The award is intended as a platform that facilitates access to professional structures within the art world and promotes exchange between artists, collectors, and institutions. In addition to financial support, the focus lies on sustained engagement through visibility, networking, and the continuous presentation of the works.
In this way, the SIMACEK ART AWARD contributes to the long-term development of emerging artistic positions and supports the advancement of contemporary art.
