For many years, the Düsseldorf-based Kolloquium Nordrhein-Westfallen has been promoting artistic work in steel/stainless steel in miniature format by announcing a competition. Students at a college are invited to create works in the categories jewelry, hollow- and flatware, or miniature sculpture made of steel or stainless steel. The rather brittle material is especially demanding for the participants both in the artistic design and in the corresponding execution.
The Steel Prize 2014 presents the results of the competition which was realized with the co-operation of the Gold and Silversmithing Department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. Twenty-two students participated in the competition. Two outstanding works received a prize and two further honorable mentions were awarded by the jury. In addition to the students, 27 other internationally established artists who have repeatedly utilized steel in their oeuvre are represented. Among the latter are the Hanau Goldsmith Laureate, Hilde De Decker, Nedda El-Asmar and David Huycke of Belgium, as well as Paul Müller, Martina Dempf, Gisbert Stach, Hermann Hermsen, Elisabeth Holder, Andrea Wippermann, and Beate Eismann of Germany.