2020 Gerhard Steidl
Gerhard Steidl, born in Göttingen in 1950, founded his own publishing house at the age of 18 and set up a screen-printing workshop for prints and posters in his native city. Since its founding, Steidl Verlag's in-house print shop has developed into one of the most famous print shops in the world, with international artists such as Joseph Beuys, Marcel Broodthaers and Nam June Paik among its clients. In 1993, Steidl's publishing house obtained the world rights to the work of Nobel Prize winner Günter Grass, which is part of the publishing programme alongside works by Icelandic Nobel Prize winner Halldòr Laxness and translations.
The books published by Steidl Verlag are distinguished by their individual design and layout. The printer and publisher, known for his passion for paper, personally selects paper and linen and checks all production steps from layout to printing. Every Steidl book literally passes through Gerhard Steidl's hands.
Award of the Gutenberg Prize 2020
On Saturday, October 10, 2020, the Gutenberg Prize 2020 was awarded to the printer and publisher Gerhard Steidl. The Gutenberg Prize of the city of Mainz and the International Gutenberg Society is awarded every two years and honors outstanding artistic, technical and scientific achievements in the field of the art of printing.
After the welcoming speeches by the President of the Gutenberg-Gesellschaft, Lord Mayor Michael Ebling, and Marianne Grosse, Head of the Department of Culture in Mainz, the laudation will follow. The laudator Thomas Schirmböck, head of ZEPHYR - Raum für Fotografie in Mannheim, opened his speech with amusing anecdotes from Steidl's childhood and youth. He then described Steidl's career and reported on his most important achievements and cooperations with well-known personalities such as Karl Lagerfeld and Günter Grass.
Due to the current situation, the award ceremony took place in the Frankfurter Hof in Mainz only in front of a small circle of invited guests. For this reason, the award ceremony was recorded and all interested parties can watch it in full here as a video afterwards.
Have fun watching it!