The sixteenth edition of the Volkskrant Visual Art Award will take place from 13 June to 2 August 2026 at the Monopole Schiedam, the new art space of Stedelijk Museum Schiedam. The Volkskrant Visual Art Award is a prestigious art award for artists aged up to and including 35 who live or work in the Netherlands. The previous edition took place in 2024. Artist Narges Mohammadi won the jury prize, while Sebastian Haquin received the public prize. In January 2026, de Volkskrant and Stedelijk Museum Schiedam will announce the scouts and nominees for this special edition of the prize.
Nominations Volkskrant Visual Art Award 2024: (left to right) Victor Crepsley, Sebastian Haquin, Narges Mohammadi, Dion Rosina and Josse Pyl
Each edition, the nominees for the prize are put forward by scouts from the cultural field. Each scout nominates one artist. Work by all nominated artists is subsequently shown in a group exhibition, previously at Stedelijk Museum Schiedam and this year, for the first time, at the museum’s younger sibling: the Monopole. Lieneke Hulshof is the curator of the exhibition. Due to the limited capacity of the Monopole, there are four scouts and four nominees this year, rather than the usual five in previous years.
A professional jury assesses the bodies of work of the nominated artists and selects a winner in June. The jury prize consists of a cash award of €10,000, to be spent at the recipient’s discretion. Visitors to the exhibition can cast a vote for their favourite on site. At the end of the exhibition, the artist who receives the most public votes will be awarded the public prize of €2,500. The prizes are made possible by the De Groot Fund of Schiedam. Winning either the jury prize or the public prize often provides a significant boost to an artist’s profile.
The festive opening and award ceremony will take place on Saturday, 13 June 2026.