The European Union charged World Craft Council Europe in collaboration with UEAPME to organise the first European Prize for contemporary crafts .
This contest was open to craftspeople of all disciplines of art and design-led crafts of the member countries of European Union. Three prizes were granted in two categories :
Three prizes for craftsmen/women younger than 35 years
Three prizes for craftsmen/women 35 years and older
The exhibition opening and the first European Prize ceremony was held in the Fall 1998 in the Art and History Museum of Vienna, located in the Harrach Palace. This exhibition was then shown in Göteborg, in Paris and in Brussels.
The Prize winners of the first edition were:
Category craftsmen/women younger than 35 years
David HUYCKE, Belgium, silversmith
Ulrika SWÄRD, Sweden, metal
Anton FARTHOFER, Austria, furniture
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European Prize David Huycke
Category craftsmen/women 35 years and older
Dörte BEHN, Germany, textile
Michael ROWE, Great Britain, metal
Paula BARTON, Sweden, glass
European Prize Dörte Behn
A trilingual catalogue (English, French, German) with appendices of Spanish, Finnish, Swedish, Dutch texts is available at the WCC-Europe Secretariat for the price of 12 Euros.