The Media Art Prize of the Faculty of Art and Design was awarded for the 14th time. A total of seven students were nominated by the teachers of the degree programme. Fernanda Caicedo received the first prize of 1,250 euros for her Bachelor's thesis »Wind Whisperer«.

»The award-winning work is a tribute to life and transience, following the delicate flap of a cicada's wings through the various stages of its existence to its passage into another world. Woven into a folk legend narrative, the stop-motion animation honours the symbolic world of nature and evokes a magical realism. Particularly noteworthy is the technical perfection that combines disparate materials such as wool, felt, sequins and natural fabrics, to create a sensual narrative. The great visual aesthetics are carried by a poetic film poem about longing and farewell, which the filmmaker arranges into a subtle Gesamtkunstwerk of voice, music, the play with material and diversity of form,« the jury said in its statement.

The second prize of 750 euros goes to Sandra Rücker for her thesis »Da lag Preßwitz schräg drinne«. The audio walk is a performative place of remembrance for the village of Preßwitz, which was flooded in 1938 by the construction of the Hohenwarte dam. The listeners move in a boat across the water surface of the fjord landscape flanked by holiday homes and needle forests in the Thuringian Slate Mountains. With each stroke of the oar, they bring back to the surface things that have been forgotten: secrets of the traumatised grandmother who did not speak because of the loss of her home, the traditions and customs that seem long outdated and useless, the military preparations for war by the Wehrmacht or the bloody forced labour under which the dam was built. The audio walk is based on an artistic research work that analyses sociological, cultural and historical memory theories and models and applies them to the memory stock around »Preßwitz« collected in a field research.

Nik Dommermuth was awarded third prize for his master's thesis »Losing Control«. His installation consists of two deliberately restrained pavilion scaffolds that serve as a breeding ground and stage for the mycelium of an oyster mushroom. The fungus can unfold freely and thus becomes visible, approachable and tangible in its liveliness. In this way, the artist wants to create places of emotional and sensory encounter - structures of relationships between human beings and organisms are to be created in order to show new ways of knowing, to stimulate processes of change and to counteract the reductionism of human action. Together, mushroom and construction create an architecture of their own that is in constant exchange with its inhabitants and conducts negotiations about differentiated interests. Third place is endowed with 500 euros.

For the 14th time, Merkur Privatbank donated a total of 2,500 euros for the Medienkunstpreis of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Wolfgang Genczler, Head of Corporate Clients / Director of Merkur Privatbank, began by congratulating all the nominated artists: »Our aim with our prizes is above all to promote creative excellence among the young artists of Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. In our understanding, enthusiasm, passion and freedom are decisive for outstanding creative achievements,« the sponsor emphasised during the award ceremony. »Creativity is a prerequisite for new ways of seeing and thinking and is thus elementary to being able to successfully manage processes of change. That is why we are happy to support the artistic work of young people as an important contribution to shaping a future worth living and loving. We are proud of our long-standing partnership with Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.«

About the Medienkunstpreis:
The professors of the degree programme Media Art and Design are invited to nominate up to two final projects from the last semesters. An independent jury of experts will then select the prize winners.

Jurors:
Dr. Susanne Asche (Historian), Dr. Annette Ludwig (Director of the Museums of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar), Susanne Radelhof (Film Director), Martin Schmitz (Publisher and Gallery Owner)

Nominated artists:
Fernanda Caicedo: »Wind Whisperer«, Stop-Motion short film, 6:30 min, 2022, Professorship Media Events

Nik Dommermuth: »Losing Control: Submissiveness as a Methodology for emergent Xenospaces«, 2 sculptures, book, mycelium, wood, gauze, PLA, 2022, Professorship Interface Design

Jascha Hagen: »Alter Piano«, computer-controlled motors inside a grand piano, performance and concert, ca. 40 min, 2022, Professorship Electroacoustic Composition and Sound Art

Jenny E. Kleine and Pia Mozet: »Unter Wasser Lila«, fictional short film, 34 min, 2022, Professorship Media Events

Sebastian Price: »Homeland«, short film, 16:24 min, 2022, Professorship Media Environments

Sandra Rücker: »Da lag Preßwitz schräg drinne«, audio walk, artistic research, 60 min, 2022, Professorship Experimental Radio

Ksenija Tajsič: »Superposition of Art & Architecture - Architectural Sculpture«, spatial installation, Virtual Reality, Professorship Design of Medial Environments

Coordination and curation:
Bianka Voigt and Konstantin Bayer

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Konstantin Bayer by e-mail at konstantin.bayer[at]galerie-eigenheim.de.