Exhibition Hier & Jetzt - Young Art Prize for Fine Arts in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

The Young Art Prize for Visual Arts in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is awarded every two years. This prize, which was awarded for the first time in 2016, honours exceptional talent and serves to professionalize and raise the profile of the young art scene outside the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The 2024 winner is photographer Ludwig Nikulski.
The prize includes 5,000 euros in prize money and a 3,000 euro grant for the first publication. Criteria for the selection were Artistic quality, previous visibility and recognition in MV, quality of the application material, consistency of continuous artistic work, innovative strength and reference to the present, personal or content-related reference to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

On the work of Ludwig Nikulski:
"The photographic study "Pod Palmani - Under the Palm Trees" was created by 2024 on the external borders of Ukraine. At first glance, the photographs appear to be documentary snapshots. With knowledge of the specific location and the artist's personal diary entries, questions arise about the lives of people in the vicinity of the war. Photographs of landscapes and architecture - taken with an analog large-format camera - bear the character of sad abandonment and threatening silence. The authentic photos merge with the artist's emotionally reflective perspective to create a touching journey through the no-go areas on the country's borders with Ukraine."