Today, the winners of the 2021 award were named at the live video ceremony – composer Pēteris Vasks, writer and illustrator Anete Melece and Rundāle Castle Museum.
Composer Pēteris Vasks has received the award for outstanding and internationally recognized artistic creativity in the field of music: brilliant premieres of compositions, among which the Sixth String Quartet and the Second Violin Concerto stand out. Evening light, as well as performances in Latvia and in the world, confirming the importance of their contribution to the promotion of the international recognition of Latvian academic music and professional culture.
Writer and illustrator Anete Melece has won the award for her bright and convincing contribution to the popularization of Latvian literature abroad, as evidenced by the books Kiosks wide translation, with its translation coming out in seventeen languages in various countries of the world, addressing audiences in other fields of art and receiving prestigious awards and nominations in the field of children’s literature in Latvia and abroad.
The award was given to the Rundāle Castle Museum for professionally performed and internationally acclaimed work in the restoration, creation and preservation of the Rundāle Castle ensemble and the French Baroque garden, which not only made a significant contribution to popularizing Latvian cultural values. first place in the European Garden Prize nomination Management or development of a historic park or garden.
Continuing the tradition of entrusting the organization of this event to one of the art colleges every year, the Ministry of Culture (Culture) ceremony has been established this year by the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. The video of the award ceremony was directed by Ināra Sluckka, the main cameraman was Aleksandrs Grebņevs.
The KM award has gained popularity in a short time, but it, like the cultural sector as a whole, has been affected by the pandemic: Covid-19 had to choose from thirteen last year’s six internationally outstanding musicians. literature and book publishing, the museum industry and cultural heritage, theater.
It has already been reported that the applications for the award were nominated by the institutions under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture, sectoral advisory councils, non-governmental organizations and local governments. The submitted applications were evaluated by the Latvian National Council of Culture in accordance with the regulations of the award, and approved by the Minister of Culture Nauris Puntulis.
The Award for Excellence in Culture is available if the award has been obtained in international and professionally prestigious competitions, festivals and other professional evaluation events in the field of culture; if the performance of Latvian artists or collectives, such as concerts, guest performances, exhibitions and other events, has gained wide resonance abroad, promoted Latvia’s prestige in the world and awareness of cultural values in Latvian society, and if the performance has attracted wide international attention and resonated in the world, Cooperation and interaction between Latvian and foreign cultural spaces.
The Ministry of Culture Award – the Culture Excellence Award – was established in 2014. In recent years it has been received by Aleksandrs Antonenko, Jānis Nords, Žanas Lipke Memorial, Signe Baumane, Iveta Apkalna, Andris Freibergs, Turaida Museum Reserve, Rasa and Raitis Šmiti, Andris Nelsons, design office H2E, Gidon Kremer, chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica, Alvis Hermanis, Latvian National Museum of Art, Rolands Kalniņš and Nora Ikstena, Imants Lancmanis, Elīna Garanča, Anna Laudere, Marina Rebeka, Gundega Laiviņa, as well as the platform Latvian Literature.
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