Styria awards culture prizes before suspending them in 2027

Styria presented its annual arts and culture prizes on Monday evening, with five awards going to artists and writers, ORF reported. The awards will be suspended next year because of budget savings, but the state’s culture councillor said they have not been abolished.

The prizes have been awarded since 1947, with 837 presented to date. Culture Councillor Karlheinz Kornhäusl said he would rather use the funds in 2027 to support young artists through grants, including opportunities to go abroad, than hold a prize ceremony.

Opera singer Wilfried Zelinka received the grand interpretation prize. Katrin Plavcak won the visual arts recognition prize, and composer and media artist Marko Ciciliani received the composition prize. The literature prize went to Natascha Gangl, who was not present, while Maria Hofer received the Peter Rosegger Literature Prize.

The state’s honorary decoration was awarded to architect Aglaee Degros, painters Bernhard Eisendle and Herbert Soltys, and musician Hermann Härtel. The ceremony coincided with an open letter from members of the state’s arts juries expressing concern about the difficult funding situation for culture in Styria and calling for a forward-looking cultural policy.