December Exhibition is an exhibition format with a long history. Across Europe in the late nineteenth century, a relatively small number of artists began to join forces in associations that organized an exhibition for its own members. This has since developed into a broad survey of the regional scenes. Due to the disproportionate number of artists today, the format has become a competition: instead of membership in an artist association, the evaluation of an independent jury is a requirement. The jury is compiled in a different way for each edition and consists of one representative each from the Kunsthalle and the Kunst Museum Winterthur, as well as an external delegate from the Künstler:innengruppe Winterthur. Every other year the committee selects from over one hundred applicants around thirty artists to participate in the exhibition at the Kunsthalle Winterthur and the Kunst Museum Winterthur.

The exhibition’s popularity with visitors is due to its presentation of a representative cross section of the newest trends in art in and around Winterthur. December Exhibition: Survey is a good opportunity for artists to present their work to a large audience. In addition, the Art Prize of the Galerieverein Winterthur, which includes a grant of ten thousand Swiss francs, has been awarded since 2021. Two additional delegates who are members of the Galerieverein are added to the jury for this. The jury selects one work from the exhibited works as the prizewinner. The award ceremony is held in conjunction with the opening of the December Exhibition, which simultaneously serves as a meeting point for the Winterthur art scene.

Curated by Lynn Kost