creative.projects 2026 | Preisverleihung

In the organizer's words:

Every spring, new creative.projects sprout up - and this year is no exception: on May 11, 2026, the creative.projects 2026 will be selected at the TRUDI Creative Cathedral in Essen. With this competition, creative.nrw is honoring cross-innovative projects from North Rhine-Westphalia's cultural and creative industries with a social, ecological and democracy-strengthening impact for the fourth time.

Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, will present the awards to the three winners.

After a welcoming address by Mona Neubaur, Sanja Zündorf will report on her experiences as a successful founder in a keynote speech. Her start-up entzück dich selbst was recognized as a creative.project in 2025 and has been causing a sensation ever since, including making it onto "Höhle der Löwen"; she has also founded a GmbH and opened her own store in Cologne. Afterwards, she will talk to Tim Betzin about successful start-ups, the pros and cons of investors, community building and marketing as well as the value of networks. Tim Betzin is co-founder and CEO of the event platform Rausgegangen, which was acquired by DuMont in 2025, and mentor for Schweiferei, another creative.project of the 2025 cohort.

The event will be moderated by Maike de Buhr, freelance music and pop culture journalist from Cologne.

Schedule
16:30 h Admission
17:00 h Start

• Welcome by Prof. Dr. Daniel Lorberg (Vice President HBK Essen) and Ines Rainer (creative.nrw)
• Greeting by Mona Neubaur (Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of NRW)
• Impulse Sanja Zündorf (delight yourself)
• Talk Sanja Zündorf & Tim Betzin (Rausgegangen)
• Award ceremony
• from 19:00 Networking evening with drinks and snacks

More info here

Award ceremony creative.projects 2026

May 11, 2026
Admission: 16:30, start: 17:00
TRUDI Kreativ-Kathedrale, Pferdemarkt 3, 45127 Essen (The main entrance to the event hall is on Viehofer Straße.)
Public transport: Tram and bus stop Viehofer Platz