Austrian Art Alumni Award 2025

Deadline: Friday, May 16, 2025, 11:00am

Aims

In order to ensure Austria's status in the arts and culture, the award aims to support particularly outstanding graduates from the art universities while they start their artist careers. With this objective, the public art universities, in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Science, initiate the “A⁴ - Austrian Art Alumni Award” program, which grants scholarships to six graduates with excellent study background per year, to be awarded across the participating universities.

During their funding period, grant holders must implement a relevant art project, which they may realize in Austria or abroad.

Target group

Eligible candidates are recent graduates from a diploma or master's degree program from one of the six public art universities in Austria* who completed their studies no longer than 18 months before the call (the cut-off date is the end date of the application period).

*_{Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Mozarteum University Salzburg, University of Arts Linz, University of Applied Arts Vienna, mdw-University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna}

Award benefits

The award sum is EUR 2,000 per month per scholarship for a period of 12 months (the overall funding amount is EUR 24,000 per person). Installments are made quarterly by the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

Application terms and conditions

Completion of a diploma or master's degree from a public Austrian art university. Completion must be no longer than 18 months before the end of the application period.
Excellent study performance, in fulfillment of the university regulations in effect at the respective university
Austrian citizenship or citizenship of an EEA country (including Switzerland) or equivalent third-country nationals and stateless persons (according to § 4 Para. 1 StudFG). Candidates who do not meet these criteria are eligible for a scholarship if their place of residence is documented in Austria from the beginning of their studies until application submission.
Maximum age for eligible applicants is 35. If there are verifiable reasons (e.g. changing course of study, care responsibilities, etc.) that make fulfillment of this requirement impossible, the jury decides whether to consider the application.
A letter of recommendation for the applied project must be submitted, issued by the applicant’s artistic supervisor of their final thesis.

Allocation

The scholarship is allocated by nine jury members. Each art university holds one vote, whereas the Federal Ministry of Science appoints one jury member. Two external, independent experts nominated by the art universities are further appointed as jury members.

Application

Application period: 28.03. to 16.05.2025

All submissions must be made via the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna submission system https://calls.akbild.ac.at/.

Applicants must upload the following three documents as separate PDF-files.

Personal information (max. file size 10 MB)
- Graduation certificate
- “Bestätigungsformular für den ausgezeichneten Studienerfolg” (confirmation that the degree was passed with distinction), all data to be completed, signed and certified by the Registrar’s Office (“Studien- und Prüfungsabteilung”) (Download: bestaetigungsformular-fuer-den-ausgezeichneten-studienerfolg_aaaa.pdf [107.63 KB])
- Official photo identification (e.g. passport, identity card)
Residence registration certificate (Meldebestätigung/“Meldezettel”)
Artistic achievements (max. file size 20 MB)
- Short project description (1 Din A4-page)
- Project concept, including a time plan (max. 2.000 characters including blanks)
- Portfolio (selection of 5 artworks / equally applies for music works and videos)
  - Overview of previous artistic work: film, video, and music works with a maximum length of 15 minutes (for longer works, an excerpt of the specified length must be submitted) must be uploaded to vimeo.com or www.youtube.com (unrestricted access without password). The links must be included in the respective work description.
  - Artist curriculum vitae
  - Letter of recommendation by the artistic supervisor of the final thesis

Please make sure that file names are according to the examples below when uploading them:

Personal information_Surname_AAAA25
Meldezettel_Surname_AAAA25
Artistic achievements_Surname_AAAA25

Contact and information

Dr.ⁱⁿ BA. MA. Angelika Hudler (a.hudler@akbild.ac.at); Vice Rectorate for Art | Teaching

For further information please contact Angelika Hudler (a.hudler@akbild.ac.at, 01588161207)

submission form

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