As one of Germany’s most richly endowed art prizes (25,000 euros), the HAP Grieshaber Prize has been awarded since 1999 for outstanding achievements in contemporary art. Previous winners include Rosa Barba, Patrycja German, Bjørn Melhus, Gert & Uwe Tobias, Özlem Günyol & Mustafa Kunt, Sergio Zevallos and Susann Maria Hempel. Since 2003, the annual exhibition of the winner’s work has been hosted by the Deutscher Künstlerbund.

This year, the »HAP-Grieshaber-Preis der VG Bild-Kunst« has been awarded to Manaf Halbouni.

Halbouni’s artistic practice is shaped by a participatory approach and striking interventions in public space. The most prominent example is »Monument«, a controversial work for which he installed three buses standing vertically outside the Frauenkirche in Dresden in reference to a barricade in the war-ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo.

In his exhibition at Deutscher Künstlerbund, the sculptor opens up a broad range of media including (concrete) sculpture, collage and video. Referring to his alter ego General Yusef Hadid, he takes European views of political world history and subjects them to alternative readings.

His sometimes strongly autobiographical works can be understood as critical and political statements on global developments and conflicts. His themes include flight and migration, deracination and lack of homeland, military violence and colonialism.

Manaf Halbouni (born 1984 in Damascus, Syria) studied at the University of Fine Arts, Damascus (2005–2008) and at Dresden University of Fine Arts (2009–2014). Until 2016 he attended the master class of Prof. Eberhard Bosslet.

He lives and works in Berlin and is a member of the Deutscher Künstlerbund.