ZKB Prizes 2016: The winners

Today on the occasion of the Zürcher Theater Spektakel, the mayor of Zurich, Corine Mauch, and Dr. János Blum, member of the bank presidium of the Zürcher Kantonalbank, have awarded the ZKB Patronage Prize (30'000 Swiss Francs), the ZKB Acknowledgement Prize (5000 Swiss Francs) and the newly created ZKB Audience Prize. The jury, consisting of five theatre experts, has unanimously taken the following decisions:

• The Patronage Prize goes to the Syrian production «While I Was Waiting» by Omar Abusaada (director) and Mohammad Al Attar (writer). The jury praised the theatre piece as «a work of art rendered historically urgent by the ongoing Syrian crisis, while embedding aesthetic qualities that outlive the considerations of time and geography».

• The Acknowledgement Prize is awarded to the Iranian performance artist Sorour Darabi for her Short Piece «Farci.e», in which she questions sexual identity and gender politics. The jury deemed the work relevant and courageous as it impresses by determination and provocative power as well as by adept use of composition and dramaturgy.

• For the first time, the spectators could select their favourite from the nominated productions and award the ZKB Audience Prize of 10'000 Swiss Francs: By a large majority they chose the astonishing circus production «A Simple Space» by the Australian company Gravity & Other Myths.

Find the detailed statements of the jury at the end of this press release