Opening and Award Ceremony for the 2025 Art Prize

On August 23, 2025, the exhibition GLASS SCULPTURE AND GARDEN 2025 opened. The jury selected the winner of the City of Munster Art Prize.
The dark clouds that had hung over Munster’s sky that morning, occasionally bringing a light shower, had cleared just in time for the opening in the afternoon.

Shortly before 4 p.m., the opening ceremony began with a performance by the Heidekreis Adult Education Center Big Band, conducted by Jürgen Heusler.

This was followed by a welcome address from Mayor Ulf-Marcus Grube. He thanked everyone involved who made this exhibition possible. Starting with all donors, sponsors, and other funding sources, the property owners, the volunteer supervisors, as well as the staff at the Munster City Administration, who had been busy with the preparations for this exhibition for months.

The excitement grew as the official award ceremony for the art prize of the GLASPLASTIK UND GARTEN 2025 exhibition began.

The jury reported that they had agreed relatively quickly that the 2025 Art Prize should be awarded as two equal first prizes, each worth €3,000. The winners are:

Simone Fezer with the artwork “High”
and
Anda Munkevica with the artwork “The River”
The winner, Simone Fezer, was present and received the certificate in person. In their laudatory speeches, jurors Jens Gussek and Thierry Biossel explained the reasons behind their selection.

Laudatory speech by Jens Gussek for Simone Fezer on the artwork “High”:
"Simone Fezer’s works are characterized by her fearless approach to the material of glass. On the one hand, one sees her skill and sensitivity in handling the material, and on the other, her ability to break away from pure craftsmanship in an unconventional way. In this way, she creates essential figurations that defy unambiguous interpretation. Her sculptures possess what art is always about: something mysterious."

Laudation by Thierry Boissel for Anda Muncevica on the artwork “The River”:
"Glass panes, curved into a U-shape, placed side by side and interlocked, unfold like a silent river of light and reflection. The transparency makes the work simultaneously appear and disappear—a suspension between visibility and invisibility. Depending on the incidence of light and the viewer’s movement, the surfaces change: at times they open up views, at others they close in on themselves in reflections.

The creation of these forms requires precision, skill, and exceptional technical equipment—a process in which craftsmanship and vision come together.

“The River” is not a static image, but an event: a stream that exists only in the moment of observation.

Afterward, the adult education center’s big band added to the guests’ cheerful mood with a short concert.