Giga-Hertz Award

Red plaque with "Giga-Hertz-Award" in white letters
Duration
2007–2023

Together with the SWR Experimentalstudio Freiburg, the ZKM | Hertz-Lab has been awarding the Giga-Hertz Prize for Electronic Music since 2007.

The Giga-Hertz Award is endowed with a total of € 25,000. In 2023 the Giga-Hertz Prize will be awarded for the 16th time. In addition to the Giga-Hertz Grand Prize, which is endowed with 10,000 € prize money, two internationally oriented Giga-Hertz Production Awards will be awarded. 

The Giga Hertz Prize is dedicated to the world-famous physicist Heinrich Hertz (1857–1894), who taught at the end of the 19th century at Karlsruhe Technical University (now KIT) and discovered electromagnetic waves there. The award was established on the initiative of the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe.

Giga-Hertz Grand Prize for Lifetime Achievement

The Giga-Hertz Grand Award of 10,000 € distinguishes renowned composers for their lifetime achievement. The prize is based on jury recommendations rather than an open call.

Giga-Hertz Production Awards

Two of the internationally oriented Giga-Hertz Production Awards are endowed with 5,000 € each. They serve the initiation and promotion of new projects, which are realized during a residence and are aimed at sound artists and composers of electronic or electroacoustic music as well as mixed music.

Giga-Hertz PopExperimental Advancement Award

Since 2022, the Giga-Hertz PopExperimental Advancement Award, donated by the Fördergesellschaft ZKM / HfG e. V., has for the first time focused on experimental electronic pop and club music. The award is endowed with 5,000 €. This year it will be awarded for the first time in cooperation with the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg.

The application for the production awards takes place in two steps

The submission of a reference work which should not be older than five years and should not exceed 20 minutes forms the basis for the jury's assessment and should use clearly identifiable electronic and technical means. In addition, it must be ensured that this reference work can be presented without great technical effort if selected by the jury.

A project exposé on a new work still to be realised should also be submitted. These new works to be created by the prize winners should be presented as world premieres at the Giga-Hertz Award ceremony in the following year. The realisation of these works will be decided by the jury in the form of a residence at the ZKM | Hertz-Lab in Karlsruhe or at the SWR Experimental Studio in Freiburg. (The works will be adapted to the possibilities of the respective studio, if necessary).

Award winners

2023

Main AwardLaurie Spiegel
Production AwardsLea Bertucci, Jessica Ekomane
PopExperimental Advancement Award This Machine!
Honorary MentionsManuel Rocha Iturbide, Nyokabi Kariũki, Piotr Kurek
bela, Sophia Mitiku, Rashaad Newsome

2022

Main AwardDaniel Teruggi
Production AwardsYu-Jung Chen / Peter Gahn
PopExperimental Advancement Award Nyege Nyege
Honorary MentionsBálint Laczkó / Claudia Robles-Angel / Timothy Roy
2021
Main AwardChristina Kubisch
Production Awards André Damiao / Yvette Janine Jackson
Honorary Mentions Maja S. K. Ratkje / Viola Yip
2020
Main Award               Alvin Lucier
Production AwardsMark Pilkington / h0nh1m (Chris Cheung)
Honorary MentionsAnni Rüfenacht & Sandra Schmid
Siamak Anvari
2019
Main Award                 
Éliane Radigue
Production AwardsHongshuo Fan / Artemi-Maria Gioti
Honorary Mentions  
 Panayiotis Kokoras / Otto Wanke
2018
Main AwardThe Hub
Production AwardsGRAYCODE, jiiiiin (Taebok Cho, Jinhee Jung)
Óscar Escudero
Special Award A.I.     Martino Sarolli
Honorary MentionsDavid Bird (USA)
2017
Main Award                 Laurie Anderson                                          
Production AwardsMaurilio Cacciatore / Astral Colones
(Valerio Tricoli, Anthony Pateras)
2016
Main Award                     Curtis Roads                                           
Production AwardsElvira Garifzyanova / Huihui Cheng
Honorary MentionsDaniel Zea Gómez
2014
Main AwardBrian Eno                                     
Production Awards Giuliano Obici / Lula Romero
Vinyl-Terror & -Horror
2013
Main AwardJohn Chowning / Francis Dhomont  
Production AwardsRoque Rivas / Alexander Schubert
Ying Wang
Promotion AwardDaniel Blinkhorn / Leo Hofmann
GHP for Sound Art
Main Award
Pierre Henry
GHP for Sound Art
Promotion Award       
Anthony Elliott / Evelina Rajca
2012
Main Award           Emmanuel Nunes
Pauline Oliveros 
Production AwardsLara Morciano / Brice Pauset
Valerio Sannicandro
Promotion Award
 Douglas Henderson / Kumiko Ōmura
GHP for Dance & Media  
 Myriam Gourfink & Kasper T. Toeplitz
GHP for Sound ArtRyoji Ikeda / Carsten Nicolai
2011
Main Award              
 Pierre Boulez
Production AwardsHoracio Vaggione
Promotion AwardAaron Einbond / Madjid Tahriri
Anthony Tan / Eric Lyon
Benedikt Schiefer / Andrea Vigani
2010
Main Award                       Gottfried Michael Koenig
Production AwardsDániel Péter Biró / José Miguél Fernandéz
Orestis Karamanlis / Robert Normandeau
Special Award for
technical innovation  
Jaime E. Oliver La Rosa
2009
Main Award 
 Jean-Claude Risset
Production Awards Kee Yong Chong / Valerio Murat
Francisco Colosanto / Panayiotis Kokoras
2008
Main Award               
 Trevor Wishart
Production AwardsNatasha Barrett / Dai Fujikura
Joāo Pedro Oliveira / Åke Parmerud
2007
Main Award              
 Jonathan Harvey
Production AwardsMark André / Daniel Mayer
Flo Menezes / Vassos Nicolaou
Organization / Institution
ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe