On Thursday, September 10, 2026, Ata Delbasteh, Head of the Department of Culture, officially presented Ji Heaun Kweon with the award at the “Apollo” (Ollohof, Boppstraße 42, 55118 Mainz). The award is endowed with 5,000 EUR and includes the purchase of a work for the city’s art collection.

 “The City of Mainz Art Promotion Award is one of the most important tools for promoting contemporary art from Mainz and for encouraging young artists to pursue their careers in our city. I am extremely pleased that we are able to award the 2026 Art Promotion Prize to such a promising artist,” said Delbasteh. “The jury’s deliberations were intense, but always constructive and full of respect for the work of our four nominees.”

In addition to Ji Heaun Kweon, Ronia Adl-Tabatabai, Maxi Merlin, and Leonard Schlöder were also nominated for the award this year. The joint exhibition featuring all the artists was presented in collaboration with the Mainz Academy of Fine Arts in its “Apollo” exhibition space at the Ollohof and can be viewed there through September 12.

About the Winner

Through line, color, and materiality, Ji Haeun Kweon explores the relationships between bodies, space, and perception. Her artistic practice is rooted in drawing—expanded through paper, fabric, and installation to extend the experience of traces spatially and materially. Rather than following a predetermined image, she works through gestures: the movement of the hand guides the form. In this process, traces emerge that lie between perception and sensation, revealing fleeting states of closeness, distance, and presence. 

The materials she uses are not merely tools of representation but bear their own traces of touch and use. As different media combine and overlap, works emerge that make the subtle relationships between bodies and their surroundings tangible. Drawing thus becomes a place where body, material, and space meet. In the traces left behind, a space emerges that invites viewers to engage their own perception—without instruction, without predetermined meaning. This exploration continues—currently in a new series that combines drawing and textiles and examines the question of how we both withdraw from reality and engage with it at the same time. 

The exhibited work “HIDE & SEEK” is also part of this series, in which Kweon explores the themes of hiding, evading, and revealing oneself.

About the Prize

Since 1962, the state capital of Mainz has awarded the prize—endowed with 5,000 euros to support visual artists in Mainz—every two years; it was established at that time to mark the city’s 2,000th anniversary. In 2026, it will be awarded for the 33rd time.

The nominees are proposed by the Advisory Board for Fine Arts of the State Capital of Mainz, which consists of eight prominent figures from the local art and cultural scene. Traditionally, the nominated artists present their works in a joint group exhibition (normally held at the City Hall Gallery). However, due to renovation work at City Hall, the group exhibition has been held at various locations in Mainz since 2020.

A jury decides on the award of the prize during the exhibition’s run. In 2026, the jury included representatives from the city council factions and the municipal Advisory Board for Fine Arts, as well as two external art experts. The jury is chaired ex officio by Ata Delbasteh, Head of the Department of Culture, who was represented this year by Dr. Stephan Fliedner, Director of the Office of Culture and Libraries.