Yulia Mashkova and Grisha Mumrikov have won the 2026 dm-Award “connecting worlds.” This internationally open award, which comes with a prize of 10,000 euros, has now been awarded for the third time to a project that bridges digital and analog worlds. Their project, Fragile Homes, will be on view from August 13 through September 13 at the SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELE Light Festival in Karlsruhe, as well as in the exhibition Media art is here.
A Project That Traces the Path of Paper
In Fragile Homes. Migrating Landscapes, the artists explore migration as a personal and social experience marked by departure, arrival, and bureaucratic hurdles. At the heart of the project are “hollow bodies” made from official documents and forms, which reveal just how profoundly bureaucratic processes shape the lived reality of migrants. The digital projection connects these narratives with the Karlsruhe cityscape, whose streets transform into root systems and neural networks—symbolizing connection, orientation, and a new home. Beyond the digital realm, the project comes to life in public urban spaces through interactive listening stations crafted from recycled documents submitted by citizens. The sculptures invite visitors to pause and rediscover the city as a place of shared roots and encounter.
Dr. Dominika Szope, director of the Karlsruhe Cultural Office, emphasizes the importance of the project: “In Fragile Homes, the duo combines the personal and the political using artistic means that are truly moving: as immigrants for whom paper is not an abstract concept, but rather determines a sense of belonging.”
Partnership with dm as a sustainable partner
The partnership between the City of Karlsruhe and dm-drogerie markt, as the award’s sponsoring partner, underscores Karlsruhe’s commitment to sustainability as a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
“Through the dm Award ‘connecting worlds,’ we as a company support artists who demonstrate how creativity brings social challenges to light. Fragile Homes combines digital imagery with tactile sculptures made from recycled materials. In doing so, the project embodies a central theme of the dm-Award: the creative interconnection of the digital and analog worlds to create new forms of engagement, dialogue, and shared experiences,” says Christoph Werner, Chairman of the dm Executive Board.