Die Blaue Nacht | The Blue Night Art Competition has been inviting artists since 2005 to develop site-specific projects in courtyards, indoor locations and squares in Nuremberg’s Old Town. For this competition, we are looking for art that inhabits spaces, engages audiences, and holds its own across two nights. Applications are open to individuals and collectives working across all artistic disciplines, including installations, light art, performance, media art, as well as interactive and participatory projects.
Applications for the Die Blaue Nacht | The Blue Night Art Competition 2027 are open until 31 July.
An artist fee of 1.500€, reimbursement of production cost up to 4.500€ - sounds interesting? We are looking forward to your proposal!
A Look Back: Die Blaue Nacht | The Blue Night Art Competition 2025
N-ERGIE Audience Award
The Audience Award, last presented in 2023 and endowed with €5,000, honoured one of the artistic positions as the audience favourite.
Audience Award Winner 2023: Aresta by Marc Vilanova, Barcelona
“Aresta” transforms a saxophone ensemble into a quasi self-sufficient system: loudspeaker membranes inside the bodies of the saxophones allow sound to resonate through the tubes, with each instrument producing its own distinct timbre. A choreography of light creates a sense of movement even though the instruments themselves remain still. An algorithmically generated composition forms a specific neural network.
With this project, the Spanish artist Marc Vilanova questions the necessity—and possible redundancy—of the human body on stage.
Impressions of the Die Blaue Nacht | The Blue Night Art Competition 2023
Audience Award Winners of the Die Blaue Nacht | The Blue Night Art Competition over the years:
2022: „Nachts vorm Museum“ | "At Night in Front of the Museum"
A light installation on the south façade of the Kunstvilla by VEB Lichtbildklub, Nuremberg / Fürth.
2019: „KAMI – Mediengötter” | "KAMI - Media Gods"
An installation by Sven Sauer and Bony Stoev, Berlin.
2018: „INTO THE GREAT BLUE OPEN”
A participatory light performance by René Martin, Nuremberg.
2017: „O.T. 875 / II”
A large-scale, immersive installation by Stefan Reiss, Berlin.
2016: „Melting Truth”
An installation by Karl and Christine Chilcott.
2015: „Die Grenzen der Freiheit” | "The Limits of Freedom"
An installation by Ying-Cheng Huang.
2014: „Sommerplanetenkunstwiese” | "Summer Planet Art Meadow"
An installation by Petra Krischke.
2013: „in between spaces”
A laser installation by Katharina Heubner, Martina Kändler and Susan Helen Miller.