The first prize went to the Studienkolleg St. Johann Blönried in Aulendorf. Courtesy MKM / Photo: Georg Lukas, Essen.
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“Pangaea” by students of the Studienkolleg St. Johann Blönried in Aulendorf. Courtesy MKM / Photo: Georg Lukas, Essen.
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Ten years Art Youth Prize: Michael Münch, Deutsche Bank Foundation; agency head Coordt von Mannstein; MKM director Walter Smerling;Karl Janssen, director of Duisburg 's Office of Cultural Affairs; Christian Focks, member of the management board Deutsche Bank Duisburg; Prof. Klaus Schäfer, State Secretary of Culture NRW; art educator Sabine Falkenbach; artist Prof. Abraham David Christian, artist. Courtesy MKM / Photo: Georg Lukas, Essen.
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Second prize: Max Ernst Comprehensive School in Cologne. Courtesy MKM / Photo: Georg Lukas, Essen.
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“KunstKücheKöln” (ArtCuisineCologne), a project by the Max Ernst Comprehensive School. Courtesy MKM / Photo: Georg Lukas, Essen.
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Third prize: Gymnasium Oberursel. Courtesy MKM / Photo: Georg Lukas, Essen.
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“Bread Basket of the Ruhr Valley” by students of the Gymnasium Oberursel. Courtesy MKM / Photo: Georg Lukas, Essen.
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Jury Award: Broich Middle School in Mülheim an der Ruhr. Courtesy MKM / Photo: Georg Lukas, Essen.
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Youth Explodes Art—The Power of Words by the Broich Middle School. Courtesy MKM / Photo: Georg Lukas, Essen.
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It’s the best-endowed German award for kids’ art projects. Now, the Deutsche Bank Foundation has awarded the Art Youth Prize for the tenth time in the Museum Küppersmühle in Duisburg (MKM). The prize is part of the Youth Interprets Art competition; this ambitious art education project was initiated by the Deutsche Bank Foundation and the MKM; it enables 20 classes from all around Germany to unfurl their creative potential. The Art Youth Prize jury consists of prominent member such as the artists Abraham David Christian and Markus Lüpertz, agency head Coordt von Mannstein, collector Sylvia Ströher, and MKM director Walter Smerling. This year, the 5,000 € prize went to the Studienkolleg St. Johann Blönried in Aulendorf. Its project Pangaea was inspired by the exhibition Walter Stöhrer – Kraftfelder at the MKM; according to the jury, it responds excitingly and with fantasy to the development in urban life and its structures. The students of the Max Ernst Comprehensive School in Cologne won second prize (2,000 €) for its project KunstKücheKöln (ArtCuisineCologne), while third prize went to the Gymnasium Oberursel for the work Bread Basket of the Ruhr Valley. The jury was so pleased with the high quality of the entries that it spontaneously decided to give another school class a Jury Award of 500 €: the students of the Broich Middle School in Mülheim an der Ruhr were inspired by Anselm Kiefer in their work Youth Explodes Art—The Power of Words.
With the competition Youth Interprets Art, openness is just as essential as fantasy and team spirit. The participating pupils spend an entire day at the MKM; under art educational guidance, they talk about the exhibited works. This active involvement with modern and contemporary works in the museum awakens the student’s curiosity. They get to know alternative ideas and ways of life, while their thinking becomes enriched by new impulses.
The themes of education and student support are at the core of the work of the Deutsche Bank Foundation. Board member Michael Münch explains it in this way: "The Deutsche Bank Foundation uses it cultural commitment to motivate young people to make the most of their artistic potential and to get excited about culture. This is why it was a given for us to support a project as special as “Youth Interprets Art” from the very beginning and to award the Deutsche Bank Foundation Art Youth Prize. We’re hoping for many more enthusiastic kids for the Art Youth Prize and we hope that with this prize we are contributing to more involvement with art and culture. We do not understand cultural education as an addendum, but rather as an essential basis for developing the ability to think and be creative." Thus, for instance, the Deutsche Bank Foundation supports the project Wallraf the Museum Bus, which brings school kids from around the Cologne area to a creative sojourn at the Wallraf Richartz Museum in Cologne; it also supports the educational initiative Kinder zum Olymp!, which seeks to foster enthusiasm for art and culture among kids and teens.
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