And the prestigious 27th Federal Prize for Art Students goes to… Hanna Schiller—reportedly the same ‘Hanna S’ who just a year ago was arrested for her alleged involvement in serious politically-inspired attacks in Budapest, and who remains in custody on suspicion of attempted murder.
Schiller is said to have carried out these attacks—including striking three people “repeatedly” with batons “and other weapons,” and using pepper spray on them—after joining Germany’s hard-left militant Hammerbande (‘Hammer Gang’), which has links to self-described “antifascist” groups.
Readers will not be surprised to learn that her art—including a doormat made out of women’s hair—explores “current socio-political issues—such as the growing shift to the Right, the refugee crisis, or structural sexism.”
Having been awarded the prize, Schiller will also now be handed €30,000 in prize money, as well as an €18,000 grant. This €48,000 is funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research—in other words, the German taxpayer.
The arts funding jury praised Schiller’s doormat work for dealing with “structural and factual mechanisms of power and violence,” which, if proven guilty, the artist clearly knows a lot about.
Schiller holds a number of scholarships and was also awarded the AdBK Nuremberg Academy Prize in 2024.
Meanwhile, Italian Green MEP Ilaria Salis, who is also charged with three counts of attempted assault in Hungary and is known as ‘Hammer Girl,’ continues to enjoy the diplomatic immunity of being a parliamentarian after the EU Parliament’s Legal Affairs committee again delayed the debate on allowing the authorities to continue her prosecution.