Winners of the Baltic Assembly Prize in Literature, the Arts and Science in 2022

On 7 October, the meeting of the Joint Jury of the Baltic Assembly took place.  During the meeting, members of the Joint Jury decided that the winners of the Baltic Assembly Prize in 2022 are  Kai Aareleid (Estonia) in Literature, Šarūnas Sauka (Lithuania) in the Arts and Gustavs Strenga, Andris Levāns, Renāte Berga and Laura Kreigere-Liepiņa  (Latvia) in Science.

Kai Aareleid was nominated for her novel “Vaikne ookean” (“Pacific Ocean’’, published in 2021). Šarūnas Sauka was nominated for the unique iconography of paintings, principles of painting, which are closely related to surrealism and magical realism, for his phantasmagorical nightmare visions and hallucinations, which are rooted in reality, fed by biblical and literary visual images of hell, paradise, and purgatory, which have evolved through the history of fine arts. And Gustavs Strenga, Andris Levāns, Renāte Berga and Laura Kreigere-Liepiņa were nominated for the collective monograph “Rīgas jezuītu kolēģijas grāmatu krājuma (1583-1621) katalogs. Krājuma vesture un rekonstrukcija”, (“Catalogue of the Riga Jesuit College Book Collection (1583-1621): History and Reconstruction of the Collection”) (2021).

Among the Jury members there are highly acknowledged artists and experts from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania - Elīna Līce, Ilze Jansone, Andrejs Krasņikovs, Indrek Mesikepp, Kadi-Ell Tähiste, Linda Lainvoo, Eugenijus Ališanka, Ramutė Rachlevičiūtė and Valdemaras Razumas.  

The aim of the Prize is to support outstanding achievements in literature, the arts and science; demonstrate the common interests of the countries in this region in upholding of their national identity and self-esteem; create an opportunity to learn about the achievements of the neighbouring countries; maintain a continuous interest among the people in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania about developments in the Baltic states; strengthen cooperation among the Baltic states in the fields of literature, the arts and science; encourage more and more people to become interested in the intellectual values and languages of the Baltic nations; and raise the level of literature, the arts and science in the Baltic states.

The Prize consists of a monetary prize, a certificate and a statuette, which are awarded annually during the Session of the Baltic Assembly. This year the Prize of the Baltic Assembly will be awarded on 28 October in Riga. 

Other candidates for the Baltic Assembly Prize 2022

In Literature

Inese Zandere, poetess, nominated for her poetry collection “Mantojumi” (“Inheritance”) (published in 2020)
Antanas A. Jonynas, translator and poet, nominated for the collection of sonnets “Naujieji sonetai”

In the Arts

Dāvis Sīmanis, film director, nominated for his full-length feature film “Gads pirms kara” (“The Year Before the War”) (2021)
Peeter Laurits, artist, nominated for his outstanding and versatile work as an artist and for his project “Biotoopia”

In Science

Hilkka Hiiop, professor at the Estonian Academy of Arts, and  Tiina-Mall Kreem, curator at the Kumu Art Museum, nominated for the project “Christian Ackermann – Tallinna Pheidias, ülbe ja andekas’’ (’’Christian Ackermann – Tallinn’s Phidias, Arrogant and Talented’’)

Jurgis Kazimieras Staniškis, the initiator of transdisciplinary research and studies in the Baltic region, nominated for his transdisciplinary research “Sustainable development: local and global solutions”

© Photos by the Administration of the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia (Author: Ernests Dinka)