The State Prize for Arts and Crafts is organized every three years by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture and the Rhineland-Palatinate Chamber of Crafts. The aim of the competition is to make the state's craft and cultural potential visible and to provide impetus for further development through contemporary forms of expression. The State Prize for Arts and Crafts is endowed with 15,000 euros. Frank Kunert, photographer and model maker from Boppard, Helena Renner, goldsmith and artist from Idar-Oberstein and Martin Schlotz, ceramist from Laudert, each received one of the state prizes of equal value amounting to 5,000 euros. In addition, Jannis Keller, carpenter from Mainz, was awarded a prize for the promotion of arts and crafts and Franz Leonhard Sommer, carpenter from Breitscheid, received a prize for craftsmanship. The prizes were presented by Daniela Schmitt, Minister of Economic Affairs, and Hans-Jörg Friese, President of the Rheinhessen Chamber of Skilled Crafts. In addition to representatives of the Ministry and the Rhineland-Palatinate Chamber of Skilled Crafts, the Mayor of Idar-Oberstein, Frank Frühauf, also attended the award ceremony in Mainz and congratulated the winners personally.
Renner won over the jury with works that deal critically and poetically with the relationship between people and their own bodies. The starting point of Renner's artistic practice are items of clothing such as shapewear and underwear, which she deforms, cuts up and combines with pearls, gemstones and other materials. In photographic stagings on the body, these objects are given an additional level of reflection. Renner thus questions social ideals of beauty and their influence on self-perception and the reality of life.
The award-winning work "Progress?", an opulent piece of jewelry consisting of hundreds of beads and silk, is worn under the belly and points out that every body, no matter how it has been shaped by life, deserves to be adorned. The individual beads were embroidered on top of each other by hand over hours of work, a process that illustrates the long journey of self-acceptance in relation to one's own body. In its statement, the jury wrote: "Helena Renner combines in Progress? art, craftsmanship and body politics - beauty and pain, intimacy and social relevance. Her work shows not just a piece of jewelry, but an attitude: for more self-love, more openness, more courage. And perhaps that is the most beautiful message: self-acceptance is not a goal, but a path made up of many small steps. There is a quiet beauty in this imperfection, in this profound humanity."
Born in 1990, the artist first studied German and sociology at the University of Trier, then completed her goldsmith training as the best goldsmith in Germany in 2020 and graduated in gemstone and jewelry at Trier University of Applied Sciences on the Idar-Oberstein campus in 2024. In the same year, she received the prestigious Marzee Graduate Prize from Galerie Marzee in the Netherlands and the Grassi Prize from Sparkasse Leipzig. This was followed in 2025 by third place in the BKV Prize of the Bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein. In addition to participating in jewelry fairs and group exhibitions, this year she presented her works for the first time in a solo exhibition at Maquis Mami Wata in Mannheim. At the beginning of 2025, she also opened her own studio in the former Zerfass building in Idar-Oberstein. With the State Prize, Helena Renner joins the ranks of outstanding jewelry makers whose work is characterized by both excellent craftsmanship and artistic relevance.
- The exhibition of the award-winning works can be seen in Mainz until October 10, 2025. Further information about the artist can be found at www.helenarenner.com.