The Latvian Academy of Culture is organizing the national “Excellence Award in Culture 2017” ceremony on December 4, in the theatre house “Zirgu Pasts”
On December 4, 2017 at 19:00 the winners of this year’s national “Excellence Award in Culture” will be revealed in the theatre house of the Latvian Academy of Culture “Zirgu Pasts” (46 Dzirnavu Street, Riga). The ceremony will be broadcasted on the Internet television “LMT Straume” (http://straume.lmt.lv/) as well as on the news portal “Delfi.lv”.
Artistic directors of the ceremony are Juris Jonelis and Jānis Mūrnieks and the host of the evening is actor Gundars Āboliņš (Munich Kammerspiele, the Latvian Academy of Culture). Performances by the artistic groups of the Latvian Academy of Culture and the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Culture are also in the programme of the evening.
The award is initiated by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and this year 21 applicants in total nominated their candidates for the award in fields such as visual art, art design, cinema, theatre, dance, cultural heritage, music, literature and publishing. Applications were revised by the Latvian National Culture Council and three candidates were distinguished to receive the award this year.
The aim of the national “Excellence Award in Culture” is to recognize the international success of Latvian artists and agents of culture, thus thanking them for their significant contribution to the promotion of cultural values of Latvia and for bringing the prestige of Latvian culture to the world. Each winner gets the award including the money prize of 7000 Euros.
The national “Excellence Award in Culture” was first introduced in 2014 and since then it has been presented to various well known Latvian artists and cultural institutions such as opera singer Aleksandrs Antoņenko, film director Jānis Nords, animator and film director Signe Baumane, organist Iveta Apkalna, stage designer Andris Freibergs, the Turaida Museum Reserve, artists Rasa Šmite and Raitis Šmits, the Žanis Lipke Memorial and conductor Andris Nelsons.