The shortlist for the European Cultural Brand Award 2017 is complete. Under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Oliver Scheytt, President of the Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft e.V. (Cultural-political Association), a panel of 38 expert judges chose 22 nominees from the 104 submissions for the 12th European Cultural Brand Award representing the fields of culture, business and media, at the Tagesspiegel publishing complex in Berlin on September 29th. The award ceremony will be hosted in conjunction with the Cultural Brands Gala “Night of Cultural Brands” on November 9th 2017 at the Wintergarten Varieté in Berlin. A total of 500 guests from the worlds of business, culture, politics and media have been invited to attend. Prizes will be awarded for the best marketing strategies deployed by cultural providers, for the most creative culture sponsoring investments into culture, the most innovative education programs and the most dedicated culture managers of the year. www.kulturmarken.de
The judges nominated the following candidates:
For the prize European Cultural Brand of the Year 2017 the panel nominated the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, ORF Radio Österreich 1 (Austrian radio station) and Kampnagel – Internationale Kulturfabrik GmbH.
The following have a chance to be recognized as the European Trend Brand of the Year 2017: The Silk Road Symphony Orchestra (CALLIAS FOUNDATION), Ulm Stories – Geschichten einer Stadt (A Town’s Stories; Interactive Media Foundation) and the Kulturzug (Culture Train) Berlin – Wroclaw// Breslau (Deutsch-Polnische Gesellschaft Berlin e.V.).
The potential winners of the award European Cultural Manager of the Year 2017 award are Frances Morris (Director of the Tate Modern, London), Eliad Moreh-Rosenberg (Curator and Director of the Yad Vashem's Art Department), Christoph Lieben-Seutter (General Director of the Laeiszhalle and of the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg) as well as Prof. Gereon Sievernich (Director of the Martin Gropius Bau).
The judges’ nominations for the category European Cultural Investor of the Year 2017 went to the Würth Group, Alfred Kärcher GmbH & Co. KG and the Wilo Foundation.
Leeuwarden Friesland (European Capital of Culture 2018), Van Gogh Europe and #urbanana (Tourismus NRW e.V.) received nominations for the European Cultural Tourism Region of the Year 2017.
Their nominations in the category European Education Program of the Year 2017 will give these organizations a reason to celebrate: The Flying Steps Academy, the Daetz Foundation – Institute for Intercultural Knowledge and Communication as well as the Paläon – Research andAdventureCenter.
The following are in the finals for the award offered for the German speaking parts of Europe – the Prize for Urban Culture: Zukunftslabor Kultur (Future Laboratory Culture; Culture Department of the State Capital of Stuttgart), 250 Jahre Goldstadt Pforzheim (The Gold City of Pforzheim Celebrates 250 Years; City of Pforzheim) as well as the FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS LEIPZIG (Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH)
During the “Night of Cultural Brands,” the award winners in the respective categories will receive the AURICA, a 23 centimeter tall waxed bronze statute. AURICA is a Romanian girl’s name, which stands for “The Golden One”. The name is a combination of everything humankind covets so much: Aura, aurum and eureka. Moreover, the sculpture is a symbol for the excellence, attractiveness and diversity of the European culture market and a synonym for the valuable communications work of European cultural providers as well as the outstanding commitment of the sponsors in European Culture. The European Cultural Brand Award receives funding from 43 business partners, including premium partners Sparkassen Group, Der Tagesspiegel, ARTE Magazin, BayerKultur, Deutsche Welle, Kulturplakatierung, HORIZONT and Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie. Funding for the AURICAs is provided by SecuritasAB.
