© Ötztal Tourismus - Philipp Schuster
Since 2018, the VOI fesch Art Prize has pursued the goal of bringing the potential and skills of people with disabilities into the public eye. The venue for the fourth edition was Ötztal’s destination of Gurgl. Recently, the top 15 were presented. And the works of the artists from Austria and Germany will last: eleven mountain gondola cabins of Rosskarbahn in Obergurgl are decorated with the motifs.
A total of 285 submissions from artists with disabilities were received at this year's VOI fesch Art Prize. Appropriately, the theme was "Winter Happiness". During the final event at Gurgl CARAT, the top 15 artists were announced. First place went to Jessica Gamsjäger from Lower Austria. Her work is entitled "Through the pink ski goggles ". Followed by Upper Austria's Andreas Krötzl with "Ski piste" and Sabine Tollkühn-Klein from North Rhine-Westphalia who showed her "Winter Dream" in Gurgl.
Attention to inclusion
The VOI fesch Art Prize in Gurgl will not only be remembered by the artists. “Some of the mountain gondola cabins have large areas covered with the artworks. This ensures that the important topic is permanently present with us and therefore also accessible to a huge number of people and mountain fans," emphasizes Dominic Kuen, Gurgl Destination Manager at Ötztal Tourismus. Werner Hanselitsch, Managing Director of the Obergurgl Lift Company, has a similar opinion: "Inclusion can make our society much more colorful, which VOI fesch impressively demonstrates. It is important to me to show how much creativity and craftsmanship is involved in each individual work."
Real unique pieces
With their designs, the participants have managed both to promote the topic of inclusion and to make Rosskarbahn mountain gondola a unique eyecatcher. The works of art can be seen on eleven gondola cabins. From "Colorful mandalas with a difference" to "Winter happiness – Gondola happiness" to "Snowflakes": people with disabilities present their art at the highest level and thus receive great recognition.
