The artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset has been announced as the recipient of the bronze B.Z. Bear Award at the 29th B.Z. Culture Prize (hereafter the Prize). The Prize, brought together annually by Berlin’s largest media outlet Berliner Zeitung (hereafter B.Z.), honors people across a diverse range of fields including art, music, performance, film, and literature, whose works have made an artistic impact on society. Since 1992, luminaries of the arts and culture sector such as Wolfgang Tillmans, Jeff Koons, and Karl Lagerfeld have been amongst the winners. This year, the Prize was awarded to a roster of eight individuals and teams including Elmgreen & Dragset, actor August Diehl, film director and screenwriter Christian Petzold, and violinist David Garrett.

Elmgreen & Dragset raise attention to the social clichés and cultural structures pervasive in everyday life, introducing works which reinvent these ideas with their signature humor and poignant sarcasm. In regards to the Prize, Miriam Krekel, the editor-in-chief of B.Z., remarked, “Today we have the honor of honoring people whose artistic work has [made] an impact on our society far beyond the borders of Berlin… And because they dare to be different, to think differently – and to act differently. Our award winners have the courage to question things.” On January 28, 2020, a gala show was held at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, where guests from culture, politics, and the media honored and celebrated the recipients of the Prize.