AICA’s 2026 Prize for Young Art Criticism, funded by the Krupp Foundation, goes to Steph Holl-Trieu
January 29, 2026 – Steph Holl-Trieu receives the AICA Prize for Young Art Critics 2026. The author and artist, born in 1995, is the third recipient of the award, which has been presented since 2024 and is awarded by the German Association of Art Critics AICA and funded by the Krupp Foundation.
“Steph Holl-Trieu’s texts are characterized by precise observation, philosophical thoroughness and an extraordinary sense of language. Holl-Trieu’s language is sober, precise, economical and patient. It is able to capture complexity in a compact way. In this way, she sets her readers in motion and invites them to think along. Their arguments develop along the concrete arrangement of works in space. Her sober thinking is free of prefabricated concepts as well as poetic fuzziness. Their glaring perception does not release any detail from liability. Holl-Trieu’s texts scan the exhibitions and works with the utmost precision and sense of proportion until openings emerge that look further and make new things conceivable.”, says the jury statement.
Members of the jury were the two award winners of the previous year, Anne Küper and Alicja Schindler, AICA member Renate Puvogel, the writer Leif Randt and AICA Deutschland e.V. President Kolja Reichert.
For years, the Krupp Foundation has been committed to promoting young people in art and culture as one of five areas of its statutes and would like to use this award to sustainably support the careers of young critics in the sense of a strong feuilleton.
About Steph Holl-Trieu
Steph Holl-Trieu’s texts have appeared in “Texte zur Kunst” and in “PW-Magazine”, among others. In addition to texts, installations and sound works, she develops performative formats such as readings and role plays. Holl-Trieu’s works have been performed at HAU Berlin, MUDAM, Luxembourg, and Shedhalle Zurich, among others. She has given lectures and workshops at the LUCA School of Arts, Brussels, the Hessian Theatre Academy and the Zurich University of the Arts, among others. Holl-Trieu holds a Master’s degree in Social and Business Communication from the Berlin University of the Arts and is currently completing her Master’s degree in Critical Studies at the Academy of Arts Vienna. From 2019 to 2024, she was co-director and curator at the Berlin exhibition space Ashley.
About the price
The AICA Prize for Young Art Criticism is a one-year scholarship endowed with €12,000 that is paid out monthly. It is aimed at authors up to the age of 35 and honors special critical achievements. With the sponsorship award, AICA Germany wants to close a funding gap between the existing art and literature prizes for the first time.