COLOGNE, GERMANY – November 1, 2026 – The Bundesverband Deutscher Galerien und Kunsthändler (BVDG) will present its NEW POSITIONS sponsorship program at ART COLOGNE 2026 with 18 promotional booths. Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer will visit the fair on November 5, speak at the opening and meet several artists and gallery owners personally during a tour. The program, run in cooperation with ART COLOGNE since 1980, aims to help younger artists enter the art market and attract collectors, museums and institutions. For galleries and buyers, the visit adds institutional visibility to the program.
Federal Culture Commissioner Joins the Opening and Tours the Booths
NEW POSITIONS is a sponsorship program supported by the federal government. This year it is distinguished by the visit of Wolfram Weimer, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM). He will speak at the opening of the art fair on November 5.
He will also meet several of the participating artists and gallery owners in person. For exhibiting galleries, this gives the sponsored positions a direct audience with a senior cultural policymaker. For the program itself, it marks a notable moment in a partnership that has run for more than four decades.
Eighteen Booths With Painting Leading and Interdisciplinary Work Close Behind
NEW POSITIONS at ART COLOGNE 2026 presents 18 promotional booths with works by seven women and eleven men artists. Painting dominates almost traditionally among the chosen positions. Nearly half of the participants, however, will present room-related and interdisciplinary works.
The media on show span painting, sculpture, drawing, collage and installation. The themes are described as having their finger on the pulse of the times. They are approached humorously and ironically, poetically, but also in documentary and archaeological ways. The questions raised include:
- Identity and origin
- Geopolitical dislocations
- Societally ascribed gender roles
- The new harshness of a society that is losing contact with its moral compass
For visitors and buyers, the mix of established media and spatial work gives the section a broad range within a single program.
Participants Range From 24 to 45 Years of Age
The average age of this year's participants is 34. The youngest artist is Pau Aguiló, aged 24, shown by Galerie Pelaires (Palma). The oldest is Patrick Walsh, aged 45, shown by Nagel Draxler (Cologne/Berlin).
That spread matters for collectors and institutions looking at early-career positions. The program is aimed at younger artists creating exceptional work, and the age range shows that entry into the market does not follow a single timeline.
Open Application Through Galleries and a Five-Member Jury
Any gallery with a contemporary program exhibiting at ART COLOGNE can apply for a promotional booth with one of its represented artists. Selection therefore starts with the galleries, which put forward the positions they want to back. Five jurors then choose the most convincing proposals from those submissions.
This year's jury comprises:
- Elke Gruhn, curator, 2002–2024 artistic and managing head of Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden
- Clara Meister, curator, director of Sammlung Hoffmann, Berlin
- Christoph Tannert, curator and author, 1992–2024 director of Künstlerhaus Bethanien
- Brigitte Werneburg, freelance journalist and author, former culture section head, film and art editor of the taz
- Frank Michael Zeidler, artist, member of various art committees including Stiftung Kunstfonds and VG Bild-Kunst
The jury combines curatorial, editorial and artist perspectives. The galleries bear the first-stage risk by choosing which artist to propose, which ties the program closely to gallery strategy.
Galleries With Continuous Involvement in the Program
The BVDG stresses that the commitment of galleries to young, not yet established positions of outstanding artistic quality is of the greatest importance for artists' careers. It names nine galleries as exemplary for their continuous involvement in NEW POSITIONS:
- Eigen + Art (Berlin-Leipzig)
- Galerie Kleindienst (Leipzig)
- Christine König Galerie (Vienna)
- Klemm's (Berlin)
- Galerie Christian Lethert (Cologne)
- alexander levy (Berlin)
- Galerie Nagel Draxler (Cologne/Berlin)
- Galerie Rupert Pfab (Düsseldorf)
- Van Horn (Düsseldorf)
Repeat participation of this kind shows that the program works as a recurring channel for gallery-led artist development, not only as a one-off showcase.
Retention Data and Reach Since 1980
The BVDG regularly evaluates the program and says the results confirm its success. More than 80 percent of the sponsored artists are still working with their galleries three to five years later. More than 1,000 artists have been promoted since 1980.
For gallery owners weighing whether to apply, the retention figure points to lasting working relationships rather than short-term exposure. For collectors, museums and institutions, the booths offer a jury-selected view of emerging positions. The 2026 edition, with its federal-level visit, puts that model in front of an unusually senior audience.
Exhibitors, collectors and institutional visitors can find programme and visitor details on the official ART COLOGNE website at artcologne.