"With this competition and prize, Henkel would like to make its contribution to European integration and cultural understanding of the CEE region. We believe in the very positive perspectives for this region," says Günter Thumser, President of Henkel CEE.

840 works of art were submitted by the participating artists and had to be evaluated, a new record in the history of the Henkel Art.Award. An international jury of experts, consisting of Edelbert Köb, Director of the MUMOK, Vienna, Jerica Ziherl, Director of the Museum of Modern Art in Rijeka, Brigitte Huck, Austrian art critic and curator, Zoran Petrovski, head of the film, photography and video department of the Museum of Contemporary Art “MOCA” in Skopje, and Barnabas Bencsik, Director of the Ludwig Museum in Budapest, decided on the Bosnian-born artist Mladen Miljanovic as the award winner from among the five finalists nominated for the prize.

“Evaluating the group of nominated artists, we ended up deciding to give the Henkel Art.Award. to Mladen Miljanovic. His works explicitly relate to politics and his own biographical background. He belongs to the generation of people who experienced the Balkan War as children and teenagers, and who were forced to re-orient themselves in the midst of a wrecked, impoverished, ethically and territorially divided and isolated country”, says jury chairman Edelbert Köb, Director of MUMOK in Vienna, in explaining why the jury chose the young Bosnian artist.

Mladen Miljanovic studied at the University of Art in Belgrade and the Academy of Art in Banja Luka. Among the last works of art which he created were “Holiday of discomfort“ as well as ”Sit-no from I serve art“ and ”Occupational therapy“, which he exhibited in Berlin, Sarajevo and Banja Luka. In his work, he confronts the symbols and motifs dominating the war, examines and reflects upon the history, significance and contextual occupation of rooms, spaces, places and cities, applying the most diverse range of media.

Within the framework of the Henkel Art.Award., the promotion prize for young, emerging Austrian artists was bestowed for the fourth time. Wolfgang Lehrner received the Henkel Art.Award. Young Artist’s Prize Austria for his installation entitled “DAS-GLEICHANDERE” (The Same Other). During his studies in Vienna and Nicaragua, Wolfgang Lehrner dealt with graphic design, architecture and transmedial art. His preferred media are photography and videos, whereas his journeys inject important impetus into his artistic work. He searches for – and finds - cosmopolitan gaps and spaces, and tries to merge them to form an invariably new world of thoughts, speech and images.

On the other hand, the Macedonian artist Dalibor Trencevski won the Henkel Art.Award. Young Artist’s Prize CEE, which is awarded within the context of the Artists-in-Residence Program of KulturKontakt Austria. The young Macedonian artist from Kumanovo already made a name for himself in his native country as a painter and also caused a great stir with his performances and installations. Moreover, he works as a stage designer as well. The Young Artist ́s Award CEE and the scholarship financing a three-month working stay in Vienna enable him to show his works of art in Austria and to get to know people in the local art scene.

The works of all the nominees as well as the award winners of the promotional prizes and of course the winner of the Henkel Art.Award. 2009, will be exhibited from November 26-29, 2009 in the Hofstallungen of MUMOK. Admission is free. (Opening hours: 12:00 noon – 6:00 p.m.)