In memory of the publisher and founder of the Secco Pontanova Foundation, Claus Michaletz, a prize of 10,000 euros is awarded to artists from Eastern Europe.
The prize is awarded once a year and is coupled to the KVOST scholarship. The full amount of the prize money is at the free disposal of the scholarship holders.
In addition to the already established KVOST scholarship – an Artist in Residency in Berlin followed by a solo exhibition at KVOST – the launch of the Claus Michaletz Preis provides further, sustainable support for the artists.
Claus Michaletz and the Secco Pontanova Foundation
In 2003, publisher Claus Michaletz founded the Secco Pontanova Foundation to promote science, art and culture. Its aim is to encourage the exchange between Germany and the Eastern European states as well as the Baltic region and Southeastern European states.
The foundation is committed to intensifying cultural transfer and strengthen ties between these countries. A bridge-building that enables the individual states to explore common roots and values of a supranational knowledge and cultural community – using the unifying language of art.
The “Claus Michaletz Prize for Eastern European Art” supports artists from Eastern Europe in memory of its generous, free-spirited founder Claus Michaletz.
Claus Michaletz was born in 1933 in the Upper Silesian town of Gleiwitz (now Gliwice, Poland) and grew up in Breslau until 1945. After graduating from high school in West Germany, he completed an apprenticeship as a bookseller at Herder Verlag in Freiburg. Later he studied economics and social sciences.
During and after his studies, Michaletz worked at Herder Verlag in Freiburg, most recently as commercial director. He later moved to Berlin as publishing director at the scientific publisher Springer, where he subsequently became managing partner.
The Claus Michaletz Preis was first awarded to Jānis Šneiders in 2020 as part of the POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair, followed by Laura Pold in 2021.