The University of Applied Arts Vienna and the City of Vienna will be awarding a prize to commemorate the student who was murdered on November 2, 2020 in the terrorist attack in downtown Vienna. Vanessa Preger-McGillivray started her studies of fine arts at the applied arts in autumn 2020. The prize, which is initially secured for four years, is endowed with 3,000 euros and is awarded at the end of the winter semester.
Image: APA / Die Angewandte
The Vanessa Preger-McGillivray Prize for a thesis in the field of fine arts is “an appreciation of a student and artist; a talent who was suddenly torn from her young and hopeful life by the terrorist attack. The prize also stands for perspectives and future opportunities, Vanessa Preger-McGillivray were denied “, emphasized Vienna's City Councilor for Culture Veronica Kaup-Hasler (SPÖ) in a broadcast on Sunday. “This award is a reminder of a passionately committed student and a reminder of the horror of this night of terror and its consequences. It is intended to benefit graduates, make their potential visible and convey appreciation for them,” said the Rector of Applied Sciences, Gerald Bast.
The first Vanessa Preger-McGillivray Prize goes to Maria Cozma. She convinced the jury with her work entitled “It's an early winter evening and even though it's not particularly late, the time has lent the sky an almost prematurely darkened cast”. “In her thesis, Maria Cozma created a precise, poetic barreness that puts absence at the center and thus questions our actions and speech,” the jury explains their decision. The award ceremony will take place in March as part of the virtual graduation ceremony.
