With the Eligius Prize for Body Jewellery and Jewellery Objects, the province of Salzburg has been honouring outstanding artistic positions in the field of contemporary jewellery art since 2005. Every three years, a jury of experts awards this prize worth 8,000 euros, which honours not only technical skill, but above all conceptual strength and innovative spirit. The prize is named after Saint Eligius, the patron saint of goldsmiths, and underlines the long tradition of jewellery art in Austria - at the same time, it looks clearly to the future: to experimental, socially relevant and artistically courageous works.
This year, the MAK - Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna is presenting the exhibition "ELIGIUS PRIZE 2025. Jewellery Art in Austria" in cooperation with the kura-t kunstraum traklhaus in Salzburg. The works of the nine nominated artists will be presented in the MAK Forum from 28 May to 29 June 2025. Among them are two graduates of the Gemstone and Jewellery Campus in Idar-Oberstein: Iris Hummer and Stephie Morawetz.
Iris Hummer - Jewellery as a moving experience
Born in 1983, Iris Hummer studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, at the College of Jewellery Design at KunstModeDesign Herbststrasse and at Trier University of Applied Sciences at the Gemstone and Jewellery Campus in Idar-Oberstein. In her work, she deals with themes such as movement, transformation and the traces of change. For her, jewellery is not a static object, but a performative medium that invites interaction with the public and opens up new spaces for experience.
Stephie Morawetz - Jewellery with an attitude
Born in 1985, Stephie Morawetz trained as a modiste, studied at the University of Art and Design Linz, at the College of Jewellery Design at KunstModeDesign Herbststrasse, at Trier University of Applied Sciences at the Gemstone and Jewellery Campus in Idar-Oberstein and at Shenkar College in Tel Aviv. She sees jewellery as a political statement. Her themes include feminism, the body, the environment and the structures of the jewellery industry. With her association NOD - Not Only Decoration, she pursues the goal of establishing jewellery as a critical and socially relevant medium.
The other nominees for the Eligius Prize 2025:
In addition to Iris Hummer and Stephie Morawetz, the following artists have been nominated:
Sonja Bischur, Ursula Guttmann, Andrea MAXA Halmschlager, Margit Hart, Konstanze Prechtl, Eva Tesarik and Uma Vogl-Fernheim.
From a total of 39 submissions, a high-calibre jury - Ulrike Johannsen, Katharina Schniebs and Anne-Katrin Rossberg - selected these nine positions for the exhibition and award ceremony.
The nomination of Iris Hummer and Stephie Morawetz for the Eligius Prize 2025 once again underlines the importance of the Gemstone and Jewellery Campus at Trier University of Applied Sciences as a training centre for pioneering female jewellery artists. We congratulate them on their nomination and look forward to the exhibition!
Opening: Tuesday, 27.5.2025, 7pm Free admission to the exhibition opening
Location: MAK Forum MAK, Stubenring 5, 1010 Wien
Exhibition duration: 28.5.–29.6.2025
Opening hours: Tu 10–21, We to Su 10–18
The show will then move to the kura-t kunstraum traklhaus in Salzburg, where it will be on display from 28 October to 6 December 2025. The winner will be announced at the opening of the exhibition in Salzburg.
Further information on the exhibition can be found here.
Further information on the nominated artists can be found here: Iris Hummer and Stephie Morawetz
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