BC21 BostonConsulting & BelvedereContemporary Art Award 2017

For the sixth time, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the Belvedere grant the BC21 Art Award, which has a value of 20,000 euros. Works by the four nominated artists are on view in an exhibition at the 21er Haus from September 20 to November 19, 2017. An international jury will decide the laureate at the beginning of October.   

In March 2017, artists Judith Fegerl (born 1977), Anja Ronacher (born 1979), Toni Schmale (born 1980), and Anne Speier (born 1977), all living and working in Vienna, were nominated for this year’s BC21 BostonConsulting & BelvedereContemporary Art Award.

"It’s my great pleasure to be able to present the highly esteemed and most generous privately endowed art prize in Austria, the BC21 Art Award," said Stella Rollig, CEO and artistic director of the Belvedere and the 21er Haus, who added, "I appreciate the successful collaboration between the Belvedere and the BCG as a model for supporting up-and-coming young artists. Especially in economically challenging times, this cannot always be taken for granted."

With this award the Boston Consulting Group, an international management consulting firm, supports the fundamental role art has as a catalyst for societal change. Dr Antonella Mei-Pochtler, senior partner at BCG, is convinced that "in times of rampant change more than ever, art assumes an admonitory and enlightening role. Art questions boundaries and broadens the horizon. This is what we need now more than ever."

As curator Luisa Ziaja points out, "experience of the past few years has shown that the winners are not the only benefactors from this initiative. Ultimately, all nominated artists are afforded a wider reception via the exhibition, its catalogue, and their exposure to an international jury."

The BC21 Art Award of 20,000 euros was launched in 2007 by the Boston Consulting Group and the Belvedere and is awarded to artists under the age of 40 living and working in Austria. The prize winners to date have been Nilbar Güres (2015), Anna Witt (2013), Lucie Stahl (2011), Nadim Vardag (2009), and Constantin Luser (2007).

This year’s nomination jury consists of Séamus Kealy (Director, Salzburger Kunstverein), Simone Menegoi (curator and author, based in Milan), Cosima Rainer (Director, Galerie der Stadt Schwaz), and Vivien Trommer (curator and author, based in Frankfurt am Main). The jury members each chose one artist independently of one another.

The laureate will be chosen at the beginning of October 2017 by the selection jury, which consists of Marius Babias (Director, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein), Zdenka Badovinac (Director, Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana), Francesco Manacorda (Artistic Director, V-A-C Foundation), and Stella Rollig (General Director, Belvedere and 21er Haus). 

The press release and high-quality press images are available for download here.