The 2023 Goethe Medal was awarded to the curatorial collective of the OFF-Biennale, the largest independent contemporary art event in Hungary. The OFF-Biennale Budapest reflects current social, political, and ecological issues via artistic means, reads the jury statement. “Here the Biennale runs explicitly without state funding. With the Goethe Medal, we hope to strengthen the work of these excellent individuals and groups in their cultural context,” explains Goethe Institute President Carola Lentz.
At documenta fifteen, the collective was one of the lumbung members designing, among other things, the exhibition space in and around the boat rental Ahoi. Artists, collectives, architects, and children developed new companionships here and used and changed the space.
The Goethe Medal has been awarded annually since 1955 as an official badge of honor of the Federal Republic of Germany to personalities “who have made a special contribution to worldwide cultural exchange or to the teaching of the German language.”
The jury statement continued: “This year’s prizewinners are inspiring enablers and mediators, creating places of encounter and diverse perspective. They make a significant contribution to cultural understanding and global exchange and to freedom of expression and the arts.” The award ceremony will be held in Weimar on August 28.