Simone Decker, winner of the Lëtzebuerger Konschtpräis 2026, on show at the Nationalmusée until 21 March
Photo: MNAHA / Tom Lucas, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
From today, 13 November, the display "Simone Decker. Lëtzebuerger Konschtpräis 2026" is open to visitors at the Nationalmusée um Fëschmaart, the National Museum of Archaeology, History and Art. Devoted to the winner of Luxembourg's national visual arts prize, it runs until 21 March 2027.
The display has two parts. Selected works from more than three decades are shown on a long curtain that unfolds them like the pages of a catalogue, in a scenography by Laurent Daubach of Design Bureau, developed with the artist. The second part places models, prototypes and fragments of her works within the permanent exhibition, on floors of the archaeology, coins and medals, and decorative and folk arts sections. They include a chewing-gum element, a prototype for Ghosts, a projection of the video Airbag (1998) and a window handle from the installation Untermieter. The objects show how a work comes into being and echo the archive of the Lëtzebuerger Konschtarchiv at the MNAHA.
The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, until 20:00 on Thursdays, and closed on Mondays. Guided tours of the display are scheduled for 29 November at 16:00 in Luxembourgish and 20 December at 16:00 in French, at €5 plus museum admission, with booking required. In a video interview filmed at places connected with her works, Decker looks back at key moments of her career; the film and a digital version of the display are available at konschtpräis2026.lu.
The jury chose Decker on 8 December 2025, and the Ministry of Culture announced the winner on 22 January 2026. Culture Minister Eric Thill presented the prize to her on 12 November at the display's opening. Worth €10,000, the prize has been awarded every two years since 2022; this is its third edition. It recognises an artist's whole body of work, career and lasting commitment to Luxembourg's art scene.
Born in 1968, Decker has worked since the 1990s, mainly in installation and photography and often in public space. Her photographic project Chewing and Folding in Venice, shown at the Venice Biennale in 1999, brought her international attention. She taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg from 2008 to 2015 and has headed the visual arts department of Kultur|lx since April 2025. At the opening, the minister praised her "determined conceptual approach" and her "constant evolution and self-reinvention". The display is curated by Jamie Armstrong.
