To this end, an art prize is awarded regularly to encourage young artists in particular to apply. The winning art object is exhibited in public spaces to make the addressed motif accessible to a wide audience.
Environmental sculpture park will be gradually created on Grafenwerth Island in Bad Honnef. Every two years, the Kummer-Vanotti Foundation, established in 2018, will offer a prize for an environmental sculpture, and the winning artwork will then be exhibited on Grafenwerth Island. What is special about this is that only artworks that address a particularly relevant environmental and climate protection topic will be exhibited. The foundation’s board members, Christoph Dänzer-Vanotti and Dr. Beate Kummer, explain: “We decided to make a contribution to the region and to support the sustainability goals of the city of Bad Honnef. Nothing currently moves people more than an environment that is worth living in for the long term. That’s why we are delighted to have found an outstandingly suitable cooperation partner in the city of Bad Honnef. The island of Grafenwerth is the pearl of the city and is visited by many thousands of people every year. We assume and hope that the presented artworks will stimulate discussion and contribute a bit to sustainable education.” Mayor Otto Neuhoff initiated the collaboration with the Kummer-Vanotti Foundation, saying, “The environmental sculpture park will further enhance the planned redevelopment of our gem, Grafenwerth Island, and complement the city’s many environmental activities. The combination of culture and sustainable environmental protection is exemplary.”
In the future, the “Environment and Art” competition will regularly determine the artist(s) who can exhibit a work of art. What is called for is an interdisciplinary approach to climate and environmental protection, as well as art that goes beyond specific technical debates and vested interests. We are looking for an artistically challenging examination in the form of sculptures or another form of visual art. A high-ranking jury of experts consisting of Dr. Camilla Bausch, Executive Director of the Ecologic Institute in Berlin, Andra Lauffs-Wegner, art collector and owner of KAT_A, Dr. Oliver Kornhoff, Museum Director Arp-Museum, Prof. Dr. Werner Gebhart, artist, jurist and sociologist, Jesse Magee, artist and scientist; Otto Neuhoff, mayor of Bad Honnef as well as Mr. Müller-Kraenner, managing director of Deutsche Umwelthilfe, will select the best competition entries from the submissions, which will be presented to the public in an exhibition.