H13 2026: Cow Notes
Fri, 20.11.2026, 7pm: H13 Award ceremony & Performance
In her performance Cow Notes, this year’s H13 Prize winner Magdalena Forster invites viewers on a performative exploration of sound, physicality and movement. In their statement, the members of the 2026 H13 jury write: "Forster transforms the Kunstraum into a space of multilayered experiences. Sound, body, and material entwine in a cacophonous interplay. The overarching idea is an acoustic dialogue between human and nonhuman agents." → Statement by the H13 Jury 2026
Forster will present Cow Notes live for the first time together with performance artist and dancer Martina De Dominicis on Friday, 20.11.2026, as part of the H13 award ceremony. A companion exhibition, part sound installation and part performance stage, offers an opportunity to gain insight into the world of Cow Notes beyond the award ceremony and live performance. → Exhibition accompanying Cow Notes
This year, Kunstraum Niederoesterreich presents the H13 Lower Austria Prize for Performance for the 20th time. It is the only award in Austria dedicated exclusively to the art form of performance. More information about the H13 Prize can be found here.
Since 2023, the award has regularly been organized in partnership with renowned art institutions abroad, which not only contribute expertise in the field of performance but also offer residencies to H13 award recipients. This year, the prize is being awarded in cooperation with Künstlerhaus Bethanien (Berlin). In addition to the H13 prize money, Forster can look forward to a two-week residency at the Künstlerhaus with diverse opportunities for artistic exhanges and international networking.
Program of the H13 Award Ceremony 2026
Moderation: Katharina Seidler (FM4)
Welcome: Frederike Sperling, Artistic director,
Kunstraum Niederoesterreich
Laudatory Speech: Lewon Heublein, Independent curator
Award Ceremony: Hermann Dikowitsch, Head of the Department of
Art and Culture at the Lower Austrian Provincial Government Office,
on behalf of Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner
Afterwards: DJ Set by 3am3ali
Magdalena Forster is a Vienna-based artist, choreographer, and performer. Her work is shaped by material-driven processes, the logic of tactile interaction, handcraft practices, and her previous professional experience in body-centered care work. Forster takes an interest in collaboration, the dynamics of score-based and live performances, and site-specific works informed by sound research. She works with the body, objects, voice, and space, viewing them as an acoustic workshop.
Her most recent work Echo Body (2025) was selected for the ImPulsTanz [8:tension] Series 2026. Hearth (2025) and Bile (2023) were realized in co-production with Tanzquartier Wien and supported by the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna and the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport. Her works have been presented at numerous festivals and in many institutions, among others: Tanzquartier Wien, Galerie Simian in coproduction with Dansehallerne Copenhagen, Systema Marseille, Kunstraum Niederoesterreich, Kunsthaus Zürich, AIL Vienna, Neuer Wiener Kunstverein, Festival der Regionen, Perspektiven Festival Attersee, BRUX / Freies Theater Innsbruck, Lothringer 13 Halle Munich, and Sonic Territories Festival.