Hubert von Goisern Culture Award

Congratulations to the winners of the Hubert von Goisern Culture Award 2023

Von Seiten der Gemeinde

Von Seiten der Gemeinde is a trio from Oberland, consisting of the rapper Yo!Zepp and the two producers and DJs Chrisfader & Testa. Their artistic approach to everything that is interpreted - or misinterpreted - as "homeland" is humorous und unique. Scraps and samples of speech are fused together into musical collages. Virtuoso Tyrolean Oberland dialectic in the sense of both linguistics and dialogue. We don't know whether Von Seiten der Gemeinde are considering crossing the parish border. The award should encourage them to do so. www.vonseitendergemeinde.at

Kimyan Law

Tackling the concept and feeling of homeland runs through the work of Nico Mpunga too. Nico was born and grew up in Vienna; he was born with the notion of interculturalism. His father's root and thus some of his own lie in the Congo. Under the name Kimyan Law he creates airy spaces with sounds and rhythms, and as a singer and multi-instrumentalist, he conjures up worlds in which you don't lose, but rather find yourself. Electronics, percussion instruments, plucked instruments, objects and sounds from everyday life fuse to become a seductive canvas of sound, which could sometimes be called fractal drum'n'bass, hip hop, rap, ambient ... Independent of all conceptuality, it is the cultural and stylistically confident flexiiblity that captured the jury's attention and earned this award. www.kimyanlaw.com

Zelda Weber

Zelda has the kind of voice that makes you fall to your knees. Pure soul pours from within her when she sings, enveloping and caressing you like a warm wind. She is not simply a wonderful singer and performer though, she also writes her own songs. Zelda Weber stands alongside a number of great names and need not shy away from any comparison with them. When she has something to say, she writes a song. She began early in life and was just 15 when she entered a studio for the first time to record her own songs. She made her first appearances at this time too. A few weeks ago, she released her first album: CRUDE. Zelda is here to stay. The Culture Award 2023 is presented in recognition of her impressive dedication to an artistic life, and her dedication to music. www.zeldaweber.com

Von Seiten der Gemeinde, Kimyan Law and Zelda Weber represent the high quality, creativity and diversity of the applications. Hubert von Goisern, who is presenting the Culture Award for the sixth time, was impressed by the musical accomplishments and inspiring ideas on show: "It's an exciting process every year, going through the multitude of applications and it's gratifying to be able to present the winners", said the musician and founder of the award.

Alea iacta est: the die is cast - and has landed

Dear music creators,
and all those who applied for the HvG Culture Award 2023!

As in previous years, there were a great number and variety of applications and the jury dealt with an impressively high level standard of entries. On behalf of the team, I thank you all for your participation and wish each one of you continued good fortune and inspiration on your artistic path. From the numerous award-worthy applications, we have chosen these three: Von Seiten der Gemeinde, Nico Mpunga aka Kimyan Law and Zelda Weber.

Our warmest congratulations go to them and we look forward to meeting them in person at the award ceremony on 23 May at the Posthof in Linz.

Wishing you a harmonious and harmonic year,

Hubert von Goisern

Hubert von Goisern Culture Award Ceremony 2023

26 May 2023 | Photos: Wikimedia - Bernhard Holub

On 23 May, the Hubert von Goisern Culture Award was presented for the sixth time, with the ceremony taking place in the Posthof in Linz for the first time. In 2023 the annual award of €15,000 was presented to three superb artists: singer and multi-instrumentalist Kimyan Law, singer-songwriter Zelda Weber and the dialect hiphop trio Von Seiten der Gemeinde.

Award founder Hubert von Goisern hosted the evening, giving the laudations and presenting the Culture Award trophies, which he had made by hand.

The artists also had the opportunity to prove themselves in front of an enthusiastic audience including the jury and friends and family. Von Seiten der Gemeinde – consisting of Rapper Yo!Zepp and DJs Chrisfader and Testa – showcased their work with pieces from their third album Almen aus Plastik. Lyrics mixed with recordings of conversations from their homeland, the Tyrolean Oberland, stylish in form and with socially relevant subject matter, you couldn't help but be drawn into their performance, even in spite of the dialect that's not easy for the untrained ear.

Kimyan Law treated the audience to extracts from his live show Emblem of Peace: LIVE, which he has already performed in the Netherlands and Croatia. Hypnotic sounds and rhythms broke through the bounds of the imagination and took the audience into new, fantastic worlds.

Last but not least, Zelda Weber, now resident in Vienna, took to the stage and performed compositions from her recently released debut album Crude. She accompanied herself on the piano and also sang a number of new, unreleased songs. It's impossible not to be enchanted by her voice.

Celebrations continued after the ceremony with ideas being shared and plans forged for the future.