ID Select

Exhibition dates: 24 April–31 May 2026
A collaboration between the HfK Bremen and the Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus, Bremen

In 2026, the Frese Design Prize will have its own museum exhibition for the first time. Under the title ‘ID Select’, selected final-year projects from the Integrated Design department at the University of the Arts Bremen will be presented at the Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus from 24 April 2026 to 31 May 2026 inclusive. All 16 designers are nominated for the Young Talent Award, which is endowed with 12,000 euros and ranks among the highest-endowed university prizes in Germany. The winner will be announced on 5 May 2026 during the public award ceremony at the Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus. 

This year, it is not only the final-year students of Fine Art at the HfK Bremen who will be given a special platform, complete with an awards ceremony. Ahead of the prestigious Karin Hollweg Prize, which will be awarded on 25 June 2026 as part of a further museum collaboration with Haus Coburg in Delmenhorst, the Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus will present the exhibition “ID Select” from 24 April 2026. On display will be the final projects nominated for the Frese Design Prize from the Integrated Design (ID) course at the University of the Arts Bremen. The prize, now worth 12,000 euros, has been awarded annually since 2014 to promote emerging talent in the Hanseatic city of Bremen and is one of the most highly endowed university prizes in Germany. This year, not only has the prize money been increased, but for the first time it will be awarded in full to a single winner, rather than being divided among three winners as previously. Nominated for the 2026 Frese Design Prize are 16 Bachelor’s and Master’s graduates who were selected by an initial jury during the recent university days as part of the ‘FINAL FINAL’ exhibition. A new feature is that, for the first time, the entries for the Frese Design Prize will be made accessible to the public in a museum setting.   

About the nominated graduates and this year’s jury
The nominees for this year’s Frese Design Prize are: Frederik Adelmann, Maja Bäumker, Luci Lee Biehler, Paula Britt, Leon Butt, Leontien Kay, Sarah Paulina Keilbach, Yang Liu, Hannah Malina Lowitz, Isabel Moraes Duzat, Claudia Sofia Pesantes Cardoso, Lena Porath, Kjell Reimers, Dana Salih, Jannes Schmidt and Söhnke Vetter.

The five-member jury for the Frese Design Prize comprises Dr Katerina Vatsella (independent curator, Bremen), Dr Julia Bulk (Director of the Wilhelm Wagenfeld Foundation, Bremen), Genna Bauer (Visual Identities, Editorial Design, Berlin), Mikaela Dörfel (product design, Kiel) and Peter Wiesmann (fashion design, Paris/Geneva and Haute école d’art et de design (HEAD) Genève).

About the exhibition 
With “ID Select”, the Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus presents a wide range of artistic media: from photography, video, graphic art, illustration, installation, fashion and performance to product design and sculpture. The exhibition offers insights into individual creative approaches whilst bringing the diversity of contemporary design approaches to life. On the theme of building culture alone, visitors can expect to see several works: a wind turbine converted into a tiny house, a film documentary on the European phenomenon of demolishing buildings that are still functional, and a Bremen bunker archive. Questions of archiving and documentation also feature in various forms in individual works: For instance, an attempt is made to archive the multitude and diversity of one’s own possessions, whilst an artistically explored material archive of ceramic objects reveals different firing times and glazing techniques. Other works engage with existential or sensory experiences: urns combine the work of mourning with sculptural form, lending the act of mourning a new plastic dimension. Elsewhere, art is made tangible through smell. The senses of sight and smell intertwine, allowing abstract photographs to be experienced olfactorily and playfully shifting the boundaries of perception.

The project is supported by the Petra and Dieter Frese Foundation. 

Further visitor information

Supporting programme for the exhibition
Thursday, 23 April 2026, 6.00 pm: Opening of the ‘ID Select’ exhibition
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 6.00 pm: Presentation of the Frese Design Prize
Saturday, 30 May 2026, 6.00 pm–midnight: Programme as part of the Long Night of Museums, featuring hourly short guided tours lasting 20 minutes (last tour at 11.00 pm)

Workshops and talks will also be offered. The dates will be announced at hfk-bremen.de and wilhelm-wagenfeld-stiftung.de. Further information can also be found at id-select.hfk-bremen.de.

Opening hours
Tuesday: 3.00 pm to 9.00 pm
Wednesday to Sunday: 10.00 am to 6.00 pm

Admission 
€6 / concessions €3.50
Location
Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus 
Am Wall 209
28195 Bremen

Directions and accessibility
Information on how to get there and on accessibility for the Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus can be found at wilhelm-wagenfeld-stiftung.de/kontakt/ 

About the University of the Arts Bremen
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 whilst also having a strong international focus. 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. Dialogue and collaboration are specifically encouraged through open courses and joint examination supervision, as well as through workshops, studios and thematic projects. 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.

Bremen University of the Arts 
Gesa Jürß, M.A.
Press and Public Relations / 
Cross-Media Editorial Team
Email: gjuerss@hfk-bremen.de
Telephone: 0421 9595 1037
www.hfk-bremen.de


Wilhelm Wagenfeld Foundation
Kathrin Hager, M.A.
Research Assistant / Public Relations
Email:  k.hager@wilhelm-wagenfeld-stiftung.de
Telephone: 0421 33 999 37
www.wilhelm-wagenfeld-stiftung.de