It is granted to movers and shakers who depart from familiar methods of producing or promoting art and attempt something out of the ordinary in their field. The purse worth 10,000 euros is intended for investment in novel ventures in art, journalism or culture. The Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge Award for unconventional approaches to publicising art is awarded every two years in partnership with the Berlinische Galerie.
Winners
| Year | Winner | Juror |
| 2021 | Hanns Zischler | Dr. Joachim Sartorius |
| 2019 | Steffen Schleiermacher | Matthias Flügge |
| 2017 | Dr. Stefan Kraus, art historian, director KOLUMBA. Art Museum of the Archdiocese of Cologne | Matthias Flügge |
| 2015 | Dr. Gabriele Sprigath, art historian, Munich | Christian Demand |
| 2013 | Harry Walter, verbal, visual and performance artist, Stuttgart | Christian Demand |
| 2011 | Stephanie Baron (Los Angeles) and Eckhart Gillen (Berlin), exhibition curators | Ulrich Eckhardt |
| 2009 | Prof. Dr. h.c. Peter Weibel, Karlsruhe, artist, curator, media theoretician, CEO of ZKM (Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie) | Ulrich Eckhardt |
| 2007 | Bernhard Leitner, Austrian sound/space artist and writer | Nike Wagner |
| 2005 | Henning Ritter, editor of the "Humanities" page in the newspaper FAZ | Nike Wagner |
| 2003 | Werner Dahlheim, Professor of Ancient History at TU Berlin Volker Hunecke, Professor of Modern History at TU Berlin Norbert Miller, Professor of German Philology, General and Comparative Literature |
Wolf Lepenies |
| 2001 | Christel Hartmann-Fritsch, head of Schlesische 27, international youth centre for art and culture | Wolf Lepenies |
| 1999 | Eske Nannen, art mediator, Emden | Jörn Merkert |
| 1997 | Harald Szeemann, exhibition maker, Tegna/Switzerland | Jörn Merkert |
| 1995 | Eberhard Blum, avant-garde musician, Berlin | Jörn Merkert |
| 1994 | Matthias Flügge, art critic and writer, Berlin | Eberhard Roters |
Other Art Prizes
For lifetime achievement
Hannah Höch Prize
For women artists
Hannah Höch Förderpreis
For enquiring artists
GASAG Art Prize
For young artists
Eberhard Roters Scholarship
For etchings