The public art universities, in cooperation
with the Federal Ministry of Science, have initiated the ‘A4 – Austrian Art Alumni Award’ programme, which enables
the awarding of one scholarship per year to six individuals with an excellent academic background across all universities.
The aim is to support particularly outstanding graduates of art universities as they embark on their artistic careers, thereby
promoting Austria's standing in the world of art and culture.
During their funding period, grant
holders must implement a relevant art project, which they may realize in Austria or abroad.
Target
group Eligible candidates are
recent graduates from a diploma or master's degree program from
one of the six public art universities in Austria*
who completed their studies no longer than 18 months before the
call (cut-off date see below).
*Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, University of Music and Performing
Arts Graz, Mozarteum University Salzburg, University of Arts Linz, University of Applied Arts Vienna, mdw-University of Music
and Performing Arts Vienna
Award benefits
The award sum is EUR 2,000 per
month per scholarship for a period of 12 months (the overall funding amount is EUR 24,000 per person). Installments are made
quarterly by the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
Application terms and conditions - Completion of a diploma or master's degree from a public Austrian art university. The date of completion
must be no longer than 1 July 2024. At the date of submission, proof of graduation must be provided by your diploma certificate.
- Excellent study performance, in fulfillment of the university regulations in effect at the respective university (see
Application à „Required documents“)
- Austrian citizenship or citizenship of an EEA country
(including Switzerland) or equivalent third-country nationals and stateless persons (according to § 4 Para. 1 StudFG).
Candidates who do not meet these criteria are eligible for a scholarship if their place of residence is documented in Austria
from the beginning of their studies until application submission.
- Maximum age for eligible
applicants is 35 (year of birth 1991 or later). If there are verifiable reasons (e.g. changing course of study, care responsibilities,
etc.) that make fulfillment of this requirement impossible, the jury decides whether to consider the application.
- A letter of recommendation for the applied project must be submitted, issued and signed by the applicant’s artistic
supervisor of their final thesis.
Allocation The scholarship
is allocated by nine jury members. Each art university holds one vote, whereas the Federal Ministry of Science appoints one
jury member. Two external, independent experts nominated by the art universities are further appointed as jury members.
Application Application deadline: 24 March 2026, 11:00 All submissions must be made via the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna submission system
https://calls.akbild.ac.at/.
Applications submitted late or incomplete cannot be considered.
Email inquiries are possible up to 1 week before the
submission deadline.
Required documents:
Applicants must upload the following
four
documents as separate PDF-files.
1. Personal information (max. file size 10 MB) - Graduation certificate
- Official photo identification (e.g. passport, identity card)
2.
Completed form „Bestätigungsformular für den ausgezeichneten Studienerfolg“ (confirmation that the degree was passed
with distinction), signed and certified by your Registrar’s Office (“Studien- und Prüfungsabteilung”), to be
downloaded from the platform
https://calls.akbild.ac.at/calls/AAAA26- Note: Make sure that any digital signatures are visible in the PDF!
3. Residence registration
certificate (Meldebestätigung/“Meldezettel”)
4. Artistic achievements (max. file size 20 MB) - Short project description (1 Din A4-page)
- Project concept, including a time plan (max. 2.000
characters including blanks)
- Portfolio (selection of max. 5 artworks / equally applies for music works and videos)
- Overview
of previous artistic work: film, video, and music works with a maximum length of 15 minutes (for longer works, an excerpt
of the specified length must be submitted) must be uploaded to www.vimeo.com or www.youtube.com (unrestricted access without password). The links must be included
in the respective work description.
- Artist curriculum vitae
- Letter of recommendation by the
artistic supervisor of the final thesis
Please make sure that file names are according to
the examples below when uploading them:
1. Personal information_Surname AAAA26
2. Confirmation distinction_Surname_AAAA26
3. Meldezettel_Surname_AAAA26
4. Artistic achievements_Surname_AAAA26
Publicity work By submitting their application, applicants agree that upon receiving the award, they are available for any
communication activities in the field of digital communication (especially on social media) and for press and public relations
work, as well as other appearances in public. Audio and video recordings may be made during these appearances. Furthermore,
they agree to present their artistic works and project results for communication purposes upon request.
Contact
and information Dr. BA. MA. Angelika Hudler (
a.hudler@akbild.ac.at);
Vizerektorat für Kunst | Lehre
Information about the application procedure is offered in a
presentation
via Zoom on 6 March 2026 | 11:00. Participation is free of cost. The Zoom-link will be published in due course before
the event on
https://www.akbild.ac.at/de/veranstaltungen.
