During the Thursday gala at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Hanna Wróblewska, thanked the laureates for their great work of passing on and popularising the heritage of their ancestors.
"Your work and activities constitute a bridge between tradition and modernity, the past and the present. Through your work, you remind us of the roots from which we grew and of the values that shaped our national identity."
- the head of Poland's Ministry of Culture said.
The laureates are folk artists from various regions of Poland, folklore groups and folk bands, as well as institutions and organisations distinguished in the care and promotion of the country's folk culture.
In the field of "Visual Art, Musical and Dance Folklore", the following were awarded:
- Anna Dunat - singer and storyteller promoting the traditions of the Żywiec Highlanders;
- Grażyna and Tadeusz Kruczyński - traditional ceramic toy makers;
- Helena Napierała - singer, continuator of monodic and polyphonic singing, founder of the "Wigranie" band;
- Halina Pajka - paper cut-out artist, master of ritual art;
- Stanisława Ewa Skowysz-Mucha - traditional Polish decorated Easter Eggs creator.
The "Master of Tradition" award was received by Anna Chuda - folk singer, dancer and storyteller from Biskupizna, with whom her student, Maria Polowczyk, was honoured as well. Meanwhile, in the "Folk Writing" domain the award was given to poet and prose writer Barbara Kryszczuk.
In the "Researchers, Scientists and Animators" category - the following were honoured:
- Donat Niewiadomski - literary historian, folklorist and regionalist;
- Elżbieta Piskorz-Branekova - ethnographer, specialist in Polish folk costumes and traditional embroidery.
Folklore groups and folk bands were awarded as well: Kapela Ludowa from Gniewczyna, Highlander Song Theatre "Dunawiec" and Regional Group "Wilamowice". The prize in the "Institutions and Organisations Distinguished in the Care and Promotion of Folk Culture" category was given to Municipal Cultural Center GOK Podegrodzie and to the Jan Dekert's Lubuskie Region Museum in Gorzów.
The Oskar Kolberg Awards "For Merit to Folk Culture" are presented annually by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. It is the oldest and most important distinction in the field of traditional culture in Poland, established in 1974. The patron of the award is Oskar Kolberg - a legendary Polish ethnographer, folklorist and composer.
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Source: IAR, PAP