Candida Höfer Wins 2024 Käthe Kollwitz Prize

Candida Höfer, a photographer from Cologne born in 1944, has received the 2024 Käthe Kollwitz Prize from Berlin's Akademie der Künste. The jury, which includes Karin Sander, Hito Steyerl, and Siegfried Zielinski, awarded her the €12,000 prize, which features a solo exhibition at the Akademie running from 14 September to 24 November. Höfer, who studied with Arno Jansen, Ole John, and Bernd Becher, is celebrated for her large-format images of architectural interiors, such as libraries and museums, referring to them as 'portraits of spaces.' Karin Sander remarked on Höfer's ability to imbue these spaces with an 'almost spiritual quality, enhanced by the absence of people.' The Käthe Kollwitz Prize, established in 1960, has been co-funded by Kreissparkasse Köln since 1992. Previous recipients include Sandra Vásquez de la Horra (2023) and Nan Goldin (2022).