H13 Lower Austria Prize for Performance
Since 2007, Kunstraum Niederoesterreich awards the H13 Lower Austria Prize for Performance, to date Austria’s only prize for performance in the context of visual art. Endowed with 5000 EUR, the ambition of the H13 Prize is to showcase the diversity and relevance of contemporary performance and to make it accessible to a broader audience – in Austria and beyond.
Two weeks of the Kunstraum’s calendar are reserved for the H13 program. Following the festive award ceremony, this timespan allows for various performative interventions or settings to highlight and question the conditions under which performance is presented in an exhibition context. The open call does not stipulate any thematic scope. In addition to the prize money, the Kunstraum provides a 3000 EUR production budget. All artists who work in performance and live in Austria are eligible to apply.
Prize-winners from past years
Stina Fors (2025), Katharina Ernst (2024), Rehema Chachage (2023), Elisabeth Kihlström & Alexander Martinz (2022), Sara Lanner (2021), Julischka Stengele (2020), Helena Eribenne (2019), Otto Krause & Milan Loviška (2018), Anna Vasof (2017), Andrea Maurer (2016), Julia Marx (2015), Barbis Ruder (2014), Peter Fritzenwallner (2013), Lilo Nein (2012), Dolce & Afghaner – Djana Covic & Fahim Amir (2011), Jakob Lena Knebl (2010), kozek hörlonski – Peter Kozek & Thomas Hörl (2009), Christian Falsnaes (2008), Roberta Lima (2007)
One of the stated goals of the H13 Prize is to offer performance artists the opportunity to network internationally and gain visibility. Since 2023, Kunstraum Niederoesterreich has therefore been awarding the prize regularly in collaboration with renowned international partner institutions. Previous H13 partners have been: Bergen Kunsthall (2023), Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (Mudam) (2024), and Studio Voltaire (2025).