Ratatouille. 2025 Gutenberg Prize of the City of Leipzig goes to Anna Haifisch
Image: Anna Haifisch
Exhibition in the German Museum of Books and Writing of the German National Library in Leipzig
17 June 2025 to 30 January 2026
The Gutenberg Prize of the City of Leipzig for 2025 will be awarded to Leipzig-based artist and illustrator Anna Haifisch.
"I am so terribly lacking in inspiration," Anna Haifisch (born in 1986) has her cartoon character say. Yet the much sought-after Leipzig-based comic artist certainly cannot say the same of herself. Born in Leipzig in 1986, she is seen as one of the "stars of Germany's alternative comic scene" (Karoline Bofinger). After studying graphic design and book art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig, she undertook advanced studies with Thomas M. Müller. In 2013, she co-founded the comic festival "The Millionaires Club", which provided an international stage for comic art in Leipzig.
In the autumn of 2015, she published her web comic "The Artist" on vice.com, which led to her international breakthrough. Her first book Von Spatz was published by Rotopolpress at the same time. In 2020, the New York Museum of Modern Art commissioned comic art from Anna Haifisch for its series "Drawn to MoMA". Anna Haifisch also draws for the Guardian, Die Zeit and Le monde diplomatique. In 2023, the Musée Tomi Ungerer, Centre international d’illustration in Strasbourg held a much acclaimed exhibition featuring drawings by Anna Haifisch, and in 2024 she exhibited her work at the Hamburg Museum of Art and Design.
Anna Haifisch's work covers a wide spectrum of media and formats, including comics, illustrations, freehand graphic prints and posters. However, her favourite medium is the book: "I always think in double pages when I'm drawing!" Haifisch's fantasy images combine "American fascination with European humour" (Andreas Platthaus) and are noted for their clear lines, vivid colours and use of pen and ink. She interweaves elements of humour and melancholy and focuses on current social issues as well as scenes from everyday life. Her most well-known character, "The Artist", is an ironic reflection on the challenges faced by artists in an existence marked by political division, everyday worries and bizarre encounters.
Since 1959, the City of Leipzig’s Gutenberg Prize, bestowed in memory of Johannes Gutenberg, has been used to honour people and institutions that – according to the Prize’s statutes – “have shown merit through their outstanding, exemplary efforts to promote book art”. It has been awarded every other year since 1993, alternating annually with the City of Mainz’s prize of the same name. The German Museum of Books and Writing is a member of the jury. The Prize is awarded for special artistic, technical or academic achievements in the areas of typography, book illustration, book art publishing, book creation and services to the dissemination of the free word. Anna Haifisch is the first comic artist to receive the Gutenberg Prize.
The City of Leipzig is awarding her the Gutenberg Prize for the theme year 2025, "More Than a Story", which focuses on Leipzig as the City of Books. The prize acknowledges not only the remarkable artistic quality of Anna Haifisch's work but also her role as an international ambassador for the city.
Incidentally, Anna Haifisch is the guest in episode 5 of the podcast "AugenRausch" produced by the German Museum of Books and Writing. You can listen to it here.
Information for your visit
Opening hours and admission
Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00
Thursday 10:00 to 20:00
Public holidays 10:00 to 18:00 (except 24 to 26 December, 31 December and 1 January)
Closed on Mondays
Admission free
Accessibility
The exhibition has barrier-free access.
Address and getting here
German National Library
Deutscher Platz 1
04103 Leipzig
Getting here
We advise you to use public transport.
1 / By public transport
By rail
From the main railway station, take S-Bahn S1 in the direction of Riesa, S2 in the direction of Markkleeberg-Gaschwitz, S3 in the direction of Stötteritz or S5/S5X in the direction of Zwickau. Journey time approx. 7 minutes, get off at “Leipzig MDR”. Exit onto Semmelweisstraße, then turn right and continue for 800 m to the intersection at Straße des 18. Oktober.
Alternatively, take tram line 16 from platform 2 in front of the main railway station (in the direction of Lößnig) and get off at “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek”. Journey time approx. 11 minutes.
By air
From Leipzig/Halle airport, take S-Bahn S5/S5X in the direction of Zwickau. Journey time approx. 30 minutes, get off at “Leipzig MDR”. Exit onto Semmelweisstraße, then turn right and continue for 400 m to the intersection at Straße des 18. Oktober.
2 / By bike
The German National Library in Leipzig can easily be reached by bike. You can get to the DNB by taking the cycle paths on Straße des 18. Oktobers, Semmelweißstraße, and Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße. A cycle lane also runs past the DNB's main entrance. Numerous bicycle parking spaces are available along this lane and at the main entrance to the German Museum of Books and Writing. The bicycle racks in front of the museum are covered.
Besides taking the cycle lane, you can reach the bicycle parking spaces via a passageway from the junction of Semmelweißstraße/Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße through the DNB's tower courtyard.
3 / By car
Approaching from the north
Take the A9 to the Schkeuditzer Kreuz intersection, continue on the A14 towards Dresden and take the Leipzig-Mitte (city centre) exit; continue on the B2 towards Leipzig city centre as far as the intersection at Prager Straße/Semmelweisstraße (follow the signs for “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek”).
Approaching from the south and east
Take the A9 or A14, change to the A38 and continue to the Leipzig-Süd exit; change to the B2 and continue to the Südvorstadt exit; turn right into Kurt-Eisner-Straße and continue to the German National Library.
4 / Accessibility
The German National Library in Leipzig has disabled parking spaces right in front of the building. The entrance for disabled visitors is signposted. The reading rooms and cafeteria are accessible by lift.
Last changes:
15.05.2025
Short-URL:
https://www.dnb.de/EN/gutenbergpreis2025