Exhibition of works by masterclass students for the Karin Hollweg Prize

The exhibition of master’s students competing for the Karin Hollweg Prize will be presented for the first time in 2026 at Haus Coburg | Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst. From 13 June to 2 August 2026, twenty young artists from the University of the Arts Bremen will be exhibiting their latest works. All participants are nominated for the 18,000-euro prize, which is one of the most highly endowed university prizes for fine art in Germany. 

On Friday, 12 June 2026, at 7.00 pm, this year’s Master’s students’ exhibition “Once You’re There It’s Easy To Find” will open for the first time at Haus Coburg | Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst. Twenty young artists from the University of the Arts Bremen will present their current works in both indoor and outdoor spaces. Visitors can expect a wide spectrum of approaches and media – ranging from painting, installation, sculpture and performance to experimental formats. In their art, the Master’s students reflect on personal experiences, respond to social and political realities, and develop highly individual perspectives on perception, the body, communication, nature, memory, technology and history. “It is a very special opportunity for Haus Coburg to get to know an entire graduating class from the Bremen University of the Arts. “The diversity of voices and creativity really bring our venue to life, and ever since the set-up phase, we’ve been looking forward to the joint exhibition, the events and celebrations we’ll be hosting over the coming weeks,” says Matilda Felix, Director of Haus Coburg.

The exhibition features works by Bissan Badran, Elizaveta Boucke, Isidora Bruna Ramirez, Jashua Bustos Chumasero, Yunna Diao, Marei Dierßen, Tabea Erhart, Bahareh Hejrankeshrad, Qi Jin, eghbal joudi, Finn Klammer, Quin Maclennan, Soheil Memari, Haruka Mogi, Bubu Mosiashvili, Mario Petry, Simon Schadwinkel, Benjamin Schlemmer, Seunghyun Seo and Qianlin Zhao.

All twenty exhibiting artists have the chance to win the coveted Karin Hollweg Prize. The award has been presented annually since 2007, is one of the most highly endowed university prizes for fine art in Germany, and comes with a total prize fund of 18,000 euros. Half of the prize money will be used to fund a solo institutional exhibition. The presentation of the Karin Hollweg Prize will take place on 25 June 2026 at 6.00 pm at Haus Coburg. A comprehensively illustrated catalogue will accompany the exhibition.

About the exhibition: Art in dialogue, both indoors and outdoors, as a unifying element
The first outdoor installations – sculptures made from found materials by Seunghyun Seo – began appearing in the streetscape of Delmenhorst at the start of the year. Jashua Bustos Chumasero, who also works in a highly process-oriented and site-specific manner, involved people from the immediate vicinity of the museum in his work in the run-up to the exhibition. 

The sculptural works by Quin Maclennan and Mario Petry also build a bridge to the cityscape: whilst Maclennan has installed a carousel horse on the lawn in the outdoor space, Petry has created a barrier in front of the museum with his ‘Stapelstein’. In her work, Yunna Diao explores the industrial architecture of Nordwolle in Delmenhorst. Her sculpture and sound installation address industrial working conditions and communication, using the example of canaries, which signal a lack of oxygen in mining with a learned whistle. 

Until 26 June 2026, the Remise in Haus Coburg will gradually fill with printed thermal paper as part of an ongoing performance by Elizaveta Boucke. Soheil Memari also facilitates interaction with visitors. His installed body scanners are activated upon entering the room and initiate a technical dialogue with the human body. In Haruka Mogi’s exhibition space, influences from nature, theatre and video games converge. The audience enters an energetic stage-like space comprising large-scale paintings and a landscape of ceramic sculptures.

Marei Dierßen’s painterly work, in turn, references the architecture of Haus Coburg as a bourgeois villa and the history of its use: in the tradition of 19th-century interior paintings, she portrays a central room and allows versions of the interior from different periods to merge into one another. These and other artistic works are on display at Haus Coburg until 2 August 2026.
 

Janneke de Vries (Director, Weserburg Museum of Modern Art)
Dr Matilda Felix (Director, Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst)
Dr Annett Reckert (Curator, Kupferstichkabinett, Kunsthalle Bremen)
Dr Arie Hartog (Director, Gerhard Marcks Haus)
Toby Kamps (Head & Exhibition Curator of Modern Art, Kunsthalle Hamburg)
Maxie Kiwitter (Assistant Curator, GAK)
Dr Andreas Kreul (Karin and Uwe Hollweg Foundation)
Dr Ingmar Lähnemann (Director of the Städtische Galerie Bremen)
Marie Oucherif (Artistic Director of Künstler:innenhaus Bremen)
Dr Frank Schmidt (Director of the Museen Böttcherstraße)

Assessors
David Bartusch, Chair of the Friends of the University of the Arts Bremen e. V.
Prof. Ingo Vetter, Professor at the University of the Arts Bremen
 

Supporting programme for the exhibition
Friday, 12 June 2026, 7.00 pm: Exhibition opening 
Sunday, 21 June 2026, 11.00 am–12.00 pm: Children’s opening (ages 4 and up)
Thursday, 25 June 2026, 6.00 pm: Presentation of the Karin Hollweg Prize
Thursday, 2 July 2026, 6.00 pm: Pop-up visit: Karin Hollweg as a guest at Haus Coburg
Sunday, 5 July 2026, from 2.00 pm: Courtyard Festival 2026 with pop-up art market, DJ set, creative activities for children and much more
Sunday, 2 August 2026, 3.00 pm: Closing event and catalogue presentation

The full programme of accompanying and educational events, including workshops, readings and artist talks, can be found at: hfk-bremen.de/veranstaltungen and under Calendar | Haus Coburg

Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday: 11.00–17.00
Thursday: 11.00–20.00
Closed on Mondays

Admission 
€4.50 / concessions €3.50

Venue
Haus Coburg | Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst
Fischstraße 30 
27749 Delmenhorst

Directions and Accessibility
You can find information on how to get there and on accessibility for Haus Coburg at hauscoburg.de

Around 1,000 students from 70 countries, 65 professors, 89 administrative staff and more than 150 lecturers make the University of the Arts Bremen a vibrant place.

The University of the Arts Bremen is a university of apparent contrasts. It has strong regional roots yet is also highly internationally oriented. It spans several locations across the city, each very different in character, ranging from classical to floating and contemporary. It is both an art and music university. This context, which defines the university, is of exceptional quality and provides a framework that enables the strengthening of both collective and individual artistic development.

The range of courses includes Fine Art, Integrated Design, Digital Media, and Artistic and Art Education Training in Music. Since 2020, the HfK Bremen has also offered the opportunity to pursue a PhD within the framework of the artistic-scientific PhD programme, particularly in the focus areas of Integrated Design and Digital Media. Through open courses and joint examination supervision, as well as through workshops, studios and thematic projects,dialogue and collaboration are specifically encouraged. With around 400 events a year, the HfK Bremen is a cultural and social pillar of the city of Bremen. 

The relationships between members of the university community, their wide-ranging partnerships, the close-knit support system, and the various regional and international collaborations all help students to develop into strong, independent individuals. This leads to work that is of great social relevance.

If you have any queries, please contact:

Bremen University of the Arts 
Gesa Jürß
Press Office / Department 1 
Email: gjuerss@hfk-bremen.de
Telephone: 0421 9595 1037
www.hfk-bremen.de

Haus Coburg | Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst
Dr Matilda Felix
Director of Haus Coburg
Email: Matilda.Felix@delmenhorst.de 
Telephone: 04221 14 13 2
www.hauscoburg.de

We would be happy to provide you with additional press images on request.