Ö1 Talent Scholarship for Visual Arts 2026
The Ö1 Talent Scholarship for Visual Arts, worth €10,000, is provided by the Wiener Städtischer Versicherungsverein. The award is intended to support emerging artists who are students at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, the University of Applied Arts Vienna, the University of Art and Design Linz, the Mozarteum University Salzburg, and the University of Art and Design Graz.
Talent Scholarship for Visual Arts
- Eligibility criteria
- Application form
- Applications to be sent to: beate.engl@moz.ac.at
- Deadline: 20th April 2026
Eligibility criteria
- The applicant must be a full time student (ordentliche Studierende) at one of the universities listed.
- The applicant must be in the second half of their degree (2. Studienabschnitt if enrolled in a "Diplomstudium") or in the final stages of their Bachelor's or Master's degree.
- Students who are already receiving a bursary or grant(s) from elsewhere, where the total financial support exceeds €3000 per year (at the time of application) are not eligible to apply for the Ö1 Talent Scholarship for Visual Arts (exceptions are made for those in receipt of student support from the student support service).
- Students who are currently living in Austria as exchange students (participation in a mobility programme such as ERASMUS, Joint Study etc.) are not eligible to participate.
Application and Deadline
The application window for the Ö1 Talent Scholarship for Visual Arts 2026 is open from 16th March 2026 until 20th April 2026. Artwork to be reviewed should be submitted digitally via the internal email address listed by the relevant university. The application must be marked "Ö1 Talentestipendium für bildende Kunst 2026".
Publication
The Ö1 Talent Scholarship for Visual Arts 2026 will be publicised as follows:
- Public notices at the arts universities (and institutes) listed above and via the organs of the arts universities
- Announcement on the website or in the newsletter of the five arts universities, and on oe1.ORF.at
Publication
The publication of the results of the Ö1 Talent Scholarship for Visual Arts 2024 will result via:
- Public notices at the arts universities (and institutes) listed above and via the organs of the arts universities
- Announcements on the website or in the newsletter of the five arts universities, on oe1.ORF.at, and on the websites of the Wiener städtischen Versicherungsvereins and the Künstlerhauses
Application portfolio
The application must contain:
- A completed application form.
- Portfolio (length: 15 - 30 pages) comprising the three artworks to be presented to the jury. The accompanying texts should describe the works in detail; videos and video documentation provide important supplementary information. Film, videoclips and soundbites should be uploaded to www.vimeo.com or www.youtube.com (access without password). Each link should be provided alongside the description of the work to which it pertains.
- Colour photos/video stills of the works should each be provided as separate files, which must include the word "Jury" in the file name. The resolution of the photographic material should be 300 dpi, and the format either .jpg or .tif.
- A PDF file containting the following (all texts must be written in German, observing current German spelling conventions):
- Biographical details (photo, education and details of artistic activities to date, e.g. exhibitions, study trips, participation in competitions etc.) according to the format specifications given in the application form
- A short statement about the applicant's creative activities, max. 500 characters (incl. spaces)
- Details of work or projects planned for the period covered by the grant, max. 500 characters (incl. spaces)
- Short descriptions of the three works that are being submitted. A maximum of 500 characters (incl. spaces) per artwork is permitted. Each description should be preceded by a small photo or video still of the work, as well as the following information: title of the work, medium, format, year or creation.
- In order to provide a comprehensive overview of the applicant's artistic activities, photographs and descriptions of further works should also be included.
- Confirmation that the student is in the second part of their studies (1. Diplomprüfungszeugnis)
- Confirmation of enrollment in degree programme (Studienbestätigung)
Only applications which all fully complete, observing all requirements listed above, will be considered.
Jury of experts
The independent expert jury for the 2026 Ö1 Talent Scholarship for Visual Arts consists of five external representatives — that is, representatives who do not belong to the respective faculty — from the above-mentioned art universities, representatives from Ö1, a representative from Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein, a representative from C/O Vienna Magazine, and a representative from MUMOK. The art universities select their external jury member autonomously and will provide the name and contact details of that person by 1st April 2026 to Ö1 (Catherine Nicholls, +43 664 88119949, catherine.nicholls@orf.at).
Selection process
Each of the five art universities listed above will shortlist entries from the submissions received, resulting in up to three finalists per art university. The shortlisting process at the art universities must be completed by 11 May 2026.
The art universities will then notify those participants whom they have selected as finalists for the Ö1 Talent Scholarship for Visual Arts 2026. The art universities will then submit the names and contact details of their finalists, as well as the total number of participants in the Ö1 Talent Scholarship for Visual Arts 2026, to Ö1 (catherine.nicholls@orf.at) by 11 May 2026.
Online Voting - Audience Award
In addition to the jury’s decision, the Ö1 audience has the opportunity to choose a winner of the Audience Award from among all the finalists. All artists and their works are presented on the website oe1.orf.at, where votes can be cast via an online poll. The works of the winner of the Audience Award will be exhibited as part of the Ö1 Talent Scholarship for Visual Arts 2026 award ceremony. The winner of the audience award will also be eligible to participate, free of charge, in the ARTIST STATEMENT as part of PARALLEL VIENNA in 2027.
