Jahresgaben 2023
December 2–10, 2023
Opening: Friday, December 1, 6pm


Rethinking Jahresgaben

It is important to us, the team of Kunstverein München, to continuously question and, if necessary, reformulate the long history of the institution. For this reason, we would like to use this letter to contextualize the format of the Jahresgaben, present a breakdown of the selection criteria for participating artists, and introduce the new opportunity to apply to participate in the Jahresgaben via an open call.

History of the Jahresgaben and current role

The Jahresgaben date back to the founding of the Kunstverein München in 1823, when members received an annual art print as part of their membership. Over time, this developed into a group exhibition of works by mostly Munich-based artists. The Jahresgaben are an important format that reflects the density and diversity of the contemporary art scene in the city of Munich, showing and discussing its works. The focus of the Jahresgaben is on artists who have a connection to the city of Munich, who live and work here, and/or who have completed their education here, as they are thus in active exchange with the institution. The Jahresgaben format remains an important fixture to the current team at Kunstverein München to come together at the end of a year and to revitalize the space as a center of art in this city.

Mutual support

Members of Kunstverein München have the opportunity to purchase works at special prices, thereby supporting local artistic production as well as Kunstverein München. Half of the profits from sales go to the artists, the other half to the Kunstverein and the Künstlersozialkasse. The exhibition thus supports the work of the Kunstverein on the one hand and the invited artists on the other. It is a solidary form of mutual support between the artists and the institution.

Affordability for all

It is important to the Kunstverein München team that members of diverse backgrounds and with varying means have the opportunity to afford the purchase of a Jahresgabe. For this reason, there is the following price regulation: for the Jahresgaben, each artist may submit up to four works, two of which may not exceed the selling price of 700 EUR each. The prices are inclusive of any applicable tax. The production costs are covered by the artists themselves and may not be passed on to the Kunstverein.

Breakdown of the selection criteria

The selection of artists for the Jahresgaben reflects the greatest possible diversity and is carried out by the entire team of Kunstverein München according to the following criteria:
– different ages and levels of experience
– heterogeneous working methods and practices
– diversity of origin
– gender diversity
– artistic professionalism
– annual changes, at least 20% newcomers, e.g. graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts Munich
– sales figures of past years
– maximum of 90 artists for each edition
– participation while studying is not possible

Open Call

Since it is important to us as the team of Kunstverein München to make participation in the Jahresgaben transparent and accessible, we are testing the possibility of an open call based on the above criteria starting in 2023. If interested, applications can be submitted until June 30 for the current year. This requires sending a short letter of motivation and portfolio to jahresgaben@kunstverein-muenchen.de. This does not apply to artists from the last three annual editions. All applications will be reviewed by the entire Kunstverein München team. The selection will also be made jointly.

For questions and feedback, we can be reached by email at jahresgaben@kunstverein-muenchen.de.

We are looking forward to the next edition of the Jahresgaben.

Warm regards,
The team of the Kunstverein München