Creative masterpieces honored: State Prize MANUFACTUM 2025 in Dortmund!

Creative masterpieces honored: State Prize MANUFACTUM 2025 in Dortmund!

On June 21, 2025, the ceremonial awarding of the MANUFACTUM state prize took place in the community hall of the Dortmund town hall. The event was accompanied by the Economics Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Mona Neubaur, and offered an impressive showcase of the creative crafts in Germany. In total, the winners can look forward to prize money of 60,000 euros.

What makes the MANUFACTUM State Prize so special? It is a major award for applied art and design that has been awarded every two years since 1963. The competition is looking for craftsmen and designers aged 25 and over from North Rhine-Westphalia who would like to draw attention to themselves with their outstanding work. This year, 353 applications were submitted, of which 122 objects were selected for the accompanying exhibition in the Dortmund Museum of Art and Cultural History. The exhibition is open until September 21st and shows not only the award-winning works, but also other notable submissions.

Prize winners and categories

The award winners and the categories in which they were honored are:

• Bild- & Druckmedien: Julian Braun (Köln)
• Kleidung und Textil: Gabi Mett (Essen)
• Möbel: Paul Vietz (Aachen)
• Objekt und Skulptur: Anke Wolf (Stolberg)
• Wohnen & Außenbereich: Uta K. Becker (Hoffnungsthal/Rösrath)
• Sonderpreis für Objekt und Skulptur: Zohair Zouirech (Düsseldorf)

The award ceremony emphasized the role of ideas and passion in crafts, which was expressly emphasized by Minister Neubaur. The creative minds were not only able to achieve fame and honor, but also the chance to present their work to a wider public.

Event details and audience award

A special highlight for visitors to the exhibition is the opportunity to award the audience prize. This vote gives everyone the chance to honor the work of their favorites. In addition, the evaluation factors such as precision craftsmanship, innovative design and material-appropriate implementation were again considered crucial this year in order to choose the best performances.

The ongoing state exhibition “Manufactum” in the Dortmund Museum for Art and Cultural History attracts numerous visitors due to its variety of creative and handicraft works. The organizers, the West German Chamber of Crafts Association in collaboration with the Dortmund Museum, have created a platform that showcases the region's creative talent.

In this sense, it is to be hoped that the MANUFACTUM State Prize will continue to be a showcase for the creative potential of North Rhine-Westphalia in the future. The competition is not only an incentive for artisans and designers, but also a wonderful way to promote and celebrate the art of craftsmanship. You can find out more about the awards in the reports from wirtschaft.nrw and creative.nrw.