Carinthian Anja M. Wohlfahrt receives renowned scholarship in Graz

Carinthian Anja M. Wohlfahrt receives renowned scholarship in Graz

Anja M. Wohlfahrt, born in St. Veit an der Glan, Carinthia in 1991, was awarded the renowned Ernst Binder scholarship. This scholarship has been awarded to outstanding personalities of performing art since 2017, preferably with reference to Graz. The award was granted to her for her remarkable artistic work and her tireless efforts in the theater landscape. Culture City Councilor Günter Riegler (ÖVP) praised her work as "artistically precise, linguistically powerful and deeply humanistic". Her politically awake contemporary theater, which emphasizes inclusive humanism, is particularly emphasized, as Elgrid Messner from the board of the Freundeskreis Schauspielhaus Graz noted.

Since October 2024, Wohlfahrt has been responsible for the artistic direction of the Theater am Lend together with Christian Winkler. Previously, she was a director at the Schauspielhaus Graz and worked closely as a director and choreographer with various institutions, including the Schauspielhaus Graz and La Strada. By the end of 2023 she was also the organizational director of the Graz intact festival, which is committed to inclusion in the cultural sector.

cultural inclusion in Graz

The Intact Festival is part of a broader initiative to promote cultural inclusion, supported by several institutions in Graz, including the Graz Academy, the Art University Graz and various social organizations. These initiatives aim to promote the active participation of people with impairments and to reduce barriers in the cultural sector. The UN Convention on the Rights of Disabilities forms the legal framework for these efforts.

the legacy of Ernst Binder

The Ernst Binder scholarship, which was now welfare, is reminiscent of the important director and author Ernst M. Binder, who came from 1953 in Mostar, Bosnia. Binder worked as the artistic director of Dramagraz and as a house director at the Staatstheater Schwerin. His impressive career comprised more than 700 prehistoric and premieres of top-class Austrian authors. He was recognized for his versatile contributions to theater and literature and remains a formative figure in the cultural history of Graz 'and beyond.

The awarding of this scholarship to Anja M. Wohlfahrt is not only recognized by their individual performance, but also emphasized the importance of inclusion and artistic engagement in the modern theater landscape. Welfare and similar artists contribute to strengthening cultural diversity and accessibility in Graz and beyond.