The Senefelder Prize has been awarded since 1975 in honor of Alois Senefelder, the inventor of lithography. It is one of the most coveted awards for artistic printmaking.
For the year 2028, the International Senefelder Foundation (ISS), with the support of the Federal Association of Visual Artists (BBK), is once again announcing a competition to recognize outstanding achievements in the field of artistic lithography and its further development in planographic printing. In addition to prize money totaling €2,000, the competition will feature an exhibition of the winners’ works in Offenbach am Main and—if suitable partners can be found—at other locations as well.
The award ceremony for the winners is expected to take place in the summer of 2028 as part of a public celebration in Offenbach am Main.
Entries may consist of an artistic work (an original print in one or more colors) from the following fields:
- Lithography: Working on Stone
- Planographic print: Work on a metal offset plate or film
- Mixed-print: A further development of 1. and 2., or of other experimental forms of flat printing
The submitted work may be produced using a hand press or a motor-driven printing press; photomechanical or halftone reproductions and digital prints are not permitted. The work must not have been created before 2023 and must be submitted unframed. The maximum size is 100 x 70 cm; a brief description of the technique used should be included.
In the first stage, entries must be submitted in digital form (jpg) to:
An information sheet and a form are available for download on the ISS website at www.senefelderstiftung.com.
The jury will select the finalists for the second round from among the applicants. The finalists will then be asked to submit their original works. In the fall of 2027, the jury will select the top three prize winners from among these entries.
The jury members are drawn from the governing bodies of the ISS and the BBK. The decision is final and not subject to legal appeal.
As in previous competitions, submitted works will not be returned; the nominated works will be added to the ISS collection. This has already resulted in one of the most significant collections of lithographs, which is housed at the House of City History in Offenbach.
Submission deadline: March 12, 2027