Polish culture minister hands out annual awards

Poland's Culture Minister Piotr Gliński has presented his annual awards for special cultural achievements to artists, managers and sponsors across 17 categories, from theatre through architecture to folk art, the state PAP news agency reported.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Piotr Gliński (right) during the awards ceremony in Warsaw on Thursday night.

PAP/Tomasz Gzell

Winners included pianist and lecturer Lidia Grychtołówna, who enjoyed success at prestigious international events such as the Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw and the Robert Schumann contest in Berlin, before sharing her knowledge as a professor at Germany's Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz.  

Celebrated composer and conductor Jerzy Maksymiuk was decorated for his many achievements, which include contributing to the birth of the Warsaw Autumn international festival of contemporary music, officials said during the awards ceremony at a Warsaw musical school on Thursday.  

Gongs also went to innovative sculptor Ludwika Ogorzelec and film-and-theatre actress Ewa Dałkowska.

Awarded since 1997, the culture minister’s annual prizes, granted for special achievements in a given year or over a lifetime, consist of a PLN 40,000 (USD 10,200) cash payout, a statuette and a diploma, the PAP news agency reported.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP