About Kunstfonds

For more than 40 years, the Stiftung Kunstfonds has been committed to promoting artistic creation and the mediation of contemporary visual art throughout Germany. It awards scholarships and project grants, supports art mediators with exhibitions, publications and preserves artistic life's work. It also awards several art prizes. Strengthening and maintaining artistic quality is at the heart of its mission.

At the same time, the Kunstfonds sees itself as a driver of innovation for topics that are highly relevant to the art scene and regularly implements studies, events and publications, sometimes in close cooperation with partner institutions.

Autonomous funding institution with artists' associations on the Stiftungsrat

All fundamental questions of the Kunstfonds`s operations are decided democratically by the Stiftungsrat, including the composition of the Vorstand, Kuratorium, Beirat and the juries. The Stiftungsrat consists of nationally active associations of visual artists as well as the federal associations of galleries and art societies; it acts democratically and is bound solely by the Kunstfonds's statutes. Another important principle of the Stiftung Kunstfonds is that visual artists always have the majority on all committees.

You can find the composition of all our committees here.

Our funding programs

With its funding programs KUNSTFONDS_Stipendium, KUNSTFONDS_SoloProjekt, KUNSTFONDS_Publikation and KUNSTFONDS_Plattformen, the Kunstfonds focuses on supporting freelance visual artists and the independent art scene. The KUNSTFONDS_Werkverzeichnung program promotes the creation of catalogs raisonnés: relevant artistic oeuvres remain accessible in digital form.

Please note: To be eligible for funding, artists must be permanently resident in Germany. Subsidised institutions, such as museums, art associations, art libraries or galleries, must also be based in Germany.

Supporting culture to strengthen democracy

The Kunstfonds is one of the six Bundeskulturfonds – Deutscher Literaturfonds, Deutscher Übersetzerfonds, Fonds Darstellende Künste, Fonds Soziokultur, Musikfonds, Stiftung Kunstfonds - which are knowledgeable and experienced instruments of federal cultural policy. As self-governing organizations, they are anchored in the arts and culture scene and guarantee a nationally and internationally networked, vibrant cultural landscape and democratically based cultural funding from the bottom up. With their work for the cultural sector, they make a significant contribution to strengthening democracy in our country.

Art heritage of the future

The “Künstler:innenarchiv der Stiftung Kunstfonds”, which was established in 2010, is a successful model project. It is initiated by artists, a hub where artistic estates are expertly stored, cared for and made visible in many places, thanks to various collaborations and partner projects. The archive also functions as an agile platform in which visions and concepts for the art heritage of the future are negotiated, developed and tested.

Our partners

The federal government is the main partner supporting the Kunstfonds. The Kunstfonds receives additional funding from the Stiftung Kulturwerk of VG Bild-Kunst.