Publication grant "Publish Now!"
Laure Catugier, Jonna Hansen And Lino Heissenberg have been awarded the 2024 ARTHENA FOUNDATION publication grant “Publish Now!” in Düsseldorf
The ARTHENA FOUNDATION has for the first time awarded a grant to support artists in the realisation of a publication. From the many applications received, the jury – comprising Dr. Eva Schmidt, Delia Keller, and Moritz Küng – selected Laure Catugier, Jonna Hansen, and Lino Heissenberg as the “Publish Now!” grant’s first recipients. The grant is intended for artists who in a special way reflect on the medium of the book in relation to their own work or who wish to publish their work in a first comprehensive monograph.
Monika Schnetkamp, CEO, KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION: “With this multi-layered scholarship, the ARTHENA FOUNDATION aims to support artists in their professional development. We congratulate the grant recipients, wish them every success in realising their publications and are delighted to accompany them on this path. We are very much looking forward to the outcome.”
Even in the digital age, the medium of the book has not lost its significance. It continues to play a chief role in the documentation, archiving, and communication of the arts. For artists, monographic publications are still crucial in the dissemination and discussion of their work. The raise in demand on the part of artists for structures that support publication projects is still strongly focused on the printed book. The idea of the “Publish Now!” grant arose from the desire to sustainably secure a wide basis for artistic practices and at the same time contribute to the preservation of cultural diversity.
Grant Recipients 2024
As a visual artist with a background in architecture, Laure Catugier’s (1982, Toulouse, FR) artwork is linked to elements of modernism and movements subsequently inspired by it. Residencies around the world (so far Europe, Middle East, Asia, and South America) enable her to explore the diversity of global post-war architecture. Her research is based on the social aspect of modernist buildings, in particular on collective housing and its progressive norms, spaces, forms, and uses. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including Berlin, Paris, London, Madrid, Düsseldorf, Rotterdam, Warsaw, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Tehran, Dallas, and Seoul.
Moritz Küng, independant curator, architecture and art publicist: “In her book project “A Never-Ending Stone” (80 + 20 pages, 26 x 21 cm, edition of 250 copies), photographer Laure Catugier explores a reconfiguration of her stock of images featuring modernist concrete architecture. The image sequences in the book are interrupted by smaller page inserts, creating overlapping motifs in which the edges of buildings, perspectives, shadows, and textures complement and extend each other in a surprising way. As a hybrid between a monograph and an artist book, this project particularly compels us due to the convincing intersection of the depicted architectural spaces and the space of the book as such. The artist’s collaboration with ‘Ein Buch Haus’ – a project gallery and publishing house for conceptual artist books – is seen as an added value.”
As a trans woman and autistic person, Jonna Hansen (*1997, Burglengenfeld) has always had a particular perception of what is commonly regarded as “normal”. Consequently, her art is dedicated to the confrontation with the abnormal, the other, in short, the unfamiliar. Her work challenges the audience to discard their sense of “the world as it should be” and to learn that dissent is an essential quality of human experience.
Delia Keller, artist and graphic designer: “Alien Fashion is a bold and inspiring work series by Jonna Hansen that strikingly demonstrates her creative vision and talent as a woman artist. It is an unforgettable journey into a world beyond convention. Jonna Hansen’s dossier convinced the jury through its striking visual language marked by surreal elements and futuristic motifs. We are delighted to support her uncompromising book object.”
Lino Heissenberg’s (*1991, Detmold) artworks are often made for interaction: Disguised as video and board games, trading cards, rulebooks and the like, they incite playful participation and are only complete once they have been handled and altered. On the other hand, in his frequently essayistic films borrowed from YouTube culture, he interweaves seemingly unrelated narratives, thus consigning them to new contexts.
Dr. Eva Schmidt, art historian, former director of the Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen: “In a caring, yet clearly satirical undertone, Lino Heissenberg’s concern is with the artistic genres and clichés found in art schools, media art, AI, entertainment films, and the discourse of male painters. The “______” catalog proposal is an interactive DIY artist book that invokes an established monographic catalog and its predictable catchwords. By inviting each user/reader to fill in the text blanks and paste in pictures, the book turns into a tool for homemade self-identity. We have chosen to support this healingly open book project because it holds up a mirror to literally any concept of identity.”