The Goethe-Institut and the Grohs family have announced a prize in memory of Henrike Grohs, who died on 13 March 2016 in a terrorist attack in the Ivory Coast.

The Henrike Grohs Prize honours the lifetime achievements of the former Head of the Goethe-Institut in Abidjan. The award would like to continue her special cause to support African artists and make a contribution towards international dialogue.

“Henrike Grohs was a colleague who stood for the unifying power of culture. In her work at the Goethe-Institut, she was committed to supporting the contribution that African artists make to their communities, to the continent and to global discourse. We would like to honour this contribution with the Henrike Grohs Prize and reward outstanding African artists”, states Johannes Ebert, Secretary General of the Goethe-Institut.

The prize of 20 000 Euros will be awarded once a year to one or several award recipients in the fields of Visual Arts, Dance, Theatre, Music or Film and will also be open to those working in an interdisciplinary manner.

The award recipients will be chosen by a jury made up of recognised African representatives from various cultural sectors as well as a representative from the Goethe-Institut. The award is aimed at artists under 40 years of age, who live and work on the African continent. Artistic quality is the most important criteria for the award. Collaborative partnership, imparting knowledge to other artists and social engagement will also play a role. The prize will be awarded once a year. The prize money can be awarded to one artist or split between several artists. Information about the nomination process will be published in greater detail by the Goethe-Institut.

Henrike Grohs died on 13 March 2016 in a terrorist attack in the Ivory Coast in which a further 14 people lost their lives. She had studied ethnology and was Head of the Goethe-Institut in the Ivory Coast from 2013 to her death. She co-founded the project “Next – Intercultural Projects” at the House of the World’s Cultures in Berlin and was its co-owner until 2009. Between 2002 and 2009, she worked as Project Manager in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra’s Education programme. In 2009, she was appointed Advisor on Culture and Development at the Goethe-Institut in South Africa. She was 51 years old when she died.

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