Prize for Art History and Research Data

The NFDI4Culture Art History Award recognises data publications and academic works that address topics in art and cultural history and, in doing so, make a significant contribution to the objectives within the consortium’s areas of responsibility.

From among all entries, the jury from the art history community within NFDI4Culture will select up to five submissions to receive awards in two categories.

Submission period for 2026: 1 July 2026–30 September 2026

Submission topics

We encourage engagement with our consortium’s areas of work and recommend that submissions refer, for example, to the following key areas:

• The (further) development of standards for data formats for encoding art-historical and cultural studies (research) data
• The (further) development of research software for art-historical and cultural studies applications
• Contributions to the sustainable archiving and accessibility of art and cultural studies (research) data
• Strategies for dealing with issues relating to image rights, privacy rights and copyright
• Development of ideas for communicating art and cultural studies (research) data and findings
• Creation of opportunities and formats for cross-institutional collaboration

Categories

The award is presented in the following two categories:

Category 1 (Sharing Knowledge): up to €1,500

Eligible for submission are qualification theses (MA, PhD and equivalent) and academic essays completed in 2025/26 across all fields of art and cultural history, the findings of which contribute to the remit of NFDI4Culture. The publications must be open access and freely available with a persistent identifier (e.g. DOI). 

Category 2 (Sharing Data): up to €1,500

Submissions may include various types of data publications by cultural practitioners and researchers from all fields of art and cultural history, the findings of which contribute to the remit of NFDI4Culture and which have been published in accordance with the FAIR principles.

Jury

The jury for the NFDI4Culture Art History Award comprises representatives from NFDI4Culture, the German Association for Art History, the Working Group on Digital Art History, and a representative of early-career researchers.

Application

The Culture Helpdesk is happy to provide preparatory support in identifying and elaborating on potential links between your project proposal and the consortium’s objectives. The documentation of the points identified during the consultation is valued by the jury when assessing the applications.

The application should include the following documents:

Category 1

1. Curriculum vitae
2. Thesis
3. A description of the project explaining how the work contributes to the objectives of NFDI4Culture and to what extent data relating to art and cultural history are incorporated (max. 1 page)
4. Overview of the planned use of project funds

Category 2

1. Curriculum vitae
2. A description of the data publication, explaining how it contributes to the objectives of NFDI4Culture and to what extent art and cultural history data have been published in accordance with the FAIR principles (max. 2 pages)
3. Overview of the planned use of project funds

Applications may be sent to the Culture Coordination Office by 30 September 2026, with the subject line “NFDI4Culture Art History Award”. If you have any questions, please also contact this address: coordination-office@nfdi4culture.de.

By submitting a proposal, all participants confirm that they have read and agreed to the terms and conditions.

Project funding

The project funding associated with the award is earmarked and enables the financing of eligible expenses, such as travel costs incurred in connection with participation in events such as specialist conferences and symposia, working hours for technical support on a fee basis, publication costs, or expenses for organising project-related workshops.

The funds must be utilised during the calendar year 2027 and accounts must be submitted to the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz by September 2027. There is no entitlement to the project funding associated with the award, and the funds will not be passed on to individuals or third parties.

The detailed terms and conditions of participation apply to all submissions.

Timetable

Timetable for the 2026 NFDI4Culture Art History Award

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

Organiser

Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz
Geschwister-Scholl-Str. 2
55131 Mainz
Germany

The Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz is a public-law corporation. It is legally represented by its President, Prof. Dr Andrea Rapp.

Aim of the Award

The NFDI4Culture Art History Award is presented by the art history community within NFDI4Culture and is intended to recognise projects and initiatives in the fields of art and cultural studies which, as set out in the call for applications, make a significant contribution to the objectives within the consortium’s areas of responsibility.

Application Period

Applications for the NFDI4Culture Art History Award are usually accepted between June and November of each year. The exact dates can be found in the current call for applications. 

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are researchers and cultural practitioners who, at the time of application, are employed at a university or non-university research institution and/or cultural institution based in the Federal Republic of Germany. The decisive factor is that at least one author is affiliated with the submitted thesis or project.

Self-nominations of theses and projects in the fields of art and cultural studies are eligible for entry. Multiple submissions of the same thesis or project by different co-authors are not permitted and will result in exclusion from the award. Upon submission of the project, the consent of all co-authors to participate must be provided.

Private individuals and commercial entities are excluded from participation. Members of the jury are excluded from participation. Projects in which at least one author is or has been funded by the NFDI4Culture consortium are not eligible to participate. Participants who do not meet the conditions of participation will be excluded from consideration for the award.

Method of entry

Entry consists of submitting a qualifying paper or a data publication, together with the documents specified in the call for entries, via the email address coordination-office@nfdi4culture.de.

Acceptance of the terms and conditions

By submitting an entry, the entrant declares that they have read and agree to the terms and conditions.

Selection process

The winners of the award will be selected by a jury comprising representatives from NFDI4Culture, the German Association for Art History, the Working Group on Digital Art History, and a representative of early-career researchers. From all the submissions received, the jury will shortlist interesting projects for publication and, in consultation with the applicants, present them in summary form in relevant digital and analogue forums. Based on the shortlist, the jury will then select the submissions to be honoured with the award.

Use of project funds

The project funds associated with the award are earmarked and enable the financing of eligible expenses that contribute to the objectives of NFDI4Culture. The funds must be spent within the following calendar year and accounted for with the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz. Invoices must be received by the ADW by 30 September of the following year or, by arrangement, by October. There is no entitlement to the project funds associated with the award, and the project funds will not be passed on to individuals or third parties.

Presentation of the Award

Once all valid entries have been reviewed, a shortlist of entries nominated for the award will be published. The winners will be selected from this list and announced publicly. The winners will be presented during the annual NFDI4Culture Community Plenary.

Data Protection

The Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz processes participants’ personal data in accordance with its privacy policy and exclusively for the purpose of organising the NFDI4Culture Art History Award under the conditions set out above. If you have any questions regarding data protection in connection with the award, please contact the Academy’s Data Protection Officer (datenschutz@adwmainz.de).

Disclaimer and exclusion of legal recourse

The Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz reserves the right to modify the conditions of participation for the NFDI4Culture Art History Award at any time. The award may be cancelled or terminated at any time without notice and without giving reasons. The Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz accepts no liability for lost chances of participation due to technical faults or other reasons. Any legal process is excluded. In the event of a contradiction between the German version of these conditions of participation and a translation, the German version shall prevail.