southwest german art prize

The Esslingen-Nürtingen District Savings Bank looks back on over 40 years of supporting the arts. In addition to its active art collection, it has been organizing exhibitions with renowned artists from southwestern Germany since the 1970s. Since 1976, it has awarded the Esslingen-Nürtingen District Savings Bank Foundation Art Prize, which is one of the oldest and most prestigious savings bank art prizes in Germany. Among the prize winners are important figures in 20th-century German art such as Walter Stöhrer, Rudolf Schoofs, and Ralph Fleck.

Following this long tradition of art prizes, the prize was relaunched in 2018 under the name SOUTHWEST GERMAN ART PRIZE as one of the highest-endowed savings bank art prizes in Germany.

Every two years, artists from Baden-Württemberg are invited to submit works on various cultural and social themes. A jury of experts curates an exhibition from the entries and selects the winner(s) of the main prize and the encouragement prize. Visitors vote for the audience prize at the exhibition's opening.