On 22 June 2004, the Municipal Council of Groningen established the George Verberg Grant.
The grant is intended for extremely promising, newly graduated artists in Groningen, and is oriented toward a stay in East Europe. Students and new graduates in bachelor fine art at Academy Minerva and graduates of the master at the FMI Masters can apply for the grant. The first grant was awarded in September 2005.
The George Verberg Grant was set up by the city fathers in 2004 after the departure of Mr G.H.B. Verberg as director of the NV Nederlandse GasUnie. Due to his great service to the City of Groningen and his exceptional interest in the visual arts, the Municipal Council honoured George Verberg with a grant bearing his name.
In view of the relationship between the Groningen GasUnie and the Russian Gazprom, and the extraordinary service of George Verberg in the construction of the Russian (gas) pipeline, the winner of the grant is encouraged to stay for a maximum of one year in Eastern Europe. In this context, the Board of Trustees of Academie Minerva regards the reinforcement of (artistic) ties with the Baltic States the most interesting in terms of content for the coming years.
Winners George Verberg Grant
2010 Eleanor Grootoonk (FMI Masters)
2009 Mina Minov (FMI Masters)
2008 Sanne Rous (FMI Masters)
2007 Jaime Ibanez (Beeldende Kunst en Vormgeving)
2006 Alex Winters (FMI Masters)
2005 Jantina Wijnja (Beeldende Kunst en Vormgeving)