It is equally important to appraise artists who have already created great life-long work, as to encourage those who are at the beginning, Maďaričsadi as quoted by the TASR newswire. “It surely is necessary to remind the public of how many magnificent and inspirational people we do have,” he said. “Some of them belong to world class.”
The prize for Slovak and foreign literature went to writer Ľubomír Feldek, the prize for theatre and dance went to actress Kristína Turjanová, while opera singer Štefan Kocán was awarded for spreading the good reputation of Slovak art abroad. Kocán commented that he was surprised as he does not perform much in his homeland. He stressed he was complimented when he saw other laureates of the prize – people who excellently represent Slovakia around the world.
The Prize for Exceptional Contribution to Theatre and dance went to the Ensemble of the Slovak National Theatre’s Ballet. General Manager of the Slovak Philharmonic Marián Lapšanský was awarded for contribution to music, while artist Alex Mlynárčik got the prize for contribution to art and architecture. Cameraman and lecturer Stanislav Szomolányi was awarded for contribution to audio-vision, and Viliam Gruska, lecturer, ethnographer, dramaturgist, scriptwriter, stage designer and director, is the laureate for lifelong contribution to art and culture.