It was under the deliberately general heading of History that the Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft announced this year's ars viva prize for fine arts. Recognized for their achievements were Mexican artist Mariana Castillo Deball (*1975), the American-Japanese team of Jay Chung & Q Takeki Maeda (*1976/1977), and Israeli artist Dani Gal (*1975).
The jury was particularly impressed by the imaginative polyphony of voices in the works of Mariana Castillo Deball, which she created by blending historical facts with her own fictions. Dani Gal's sound and video installations vigorously explore the construction of postwar history through media and allow the viewer to interact with them. Jay Chung's & Q Takeki Maeda's humorous treatment of the ways histories are charged for today's media and consumer worlds was the decisive factor in awarding a prize to this team of artists.
 
Exhibition schedule: Museum Wiesbaden, October 11-January 17, 2010 | Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, February 20-April 4, 2010 | migros museum für gegenwartskunst, Zurich , June 12-August 15, 2010