Thursday, 8. 6. 2017

Župančič Awards 2017

We are presenting the recipients of Župančič Awards 2017, the highest recognition of the City of Ljubljana for outstanding creation in the field of art and culture.

The City of Ljubljana again recognised the greatness of four artists who with their creative work spread the reputation of Ljubljana at home and around the world.

The Župančič Lifetime Achievement Award went to the composer Jakob Jež.

The Society of Slovene Composers wrote in their nomination for the award that Jakob Jež is characterised by contemporary music orientation intertwined with folk tradition and Slovenian musical history. His music is close to the listeners and performers, it is comprehensible, convincing and at the same time it has a contemporary and fresh sound. His work found its way to every Slovenian choir where he left a strong mark.

The Župančič Award for Two-Year Creativity was presented to:

•Author of animated films Špela Čadež, whose work placed Ljubljana back on the world map of copyright animated work, as was stated in the justification of the nomination by the Directors’ Guild of Slovenia. For her films, in which she is trying out different techniques, she received prestigious awards and was invited to eminent international festivals. After the success of her first film Boles (2013) Špela Čadež continues her rewarding festival journey with her latest animated film Nighthawk (2016).

•Theatre, film and radio actor Željko Hrs, creating for many years in the Mladinsko Theatre where he has proven himself as a thinking and involved artist with broad outlooks and a firm ethical stance, who can serve as a role-model to his colleagues and an inspiration for the coming generations of actors, as was written in the justification of the nomination by the Mladinsko Theatre. In the past two years Željko Hrs has significantly contributed to the creation of the plays The Ridiculous Darkness, Rok’s Depth, Slamrock, We, European Corpses and The Human Factor.

•Writer Goran Vojnović whose novel The Fig raises questions about human identity in our wider geographical space. The characters in the novel go in and out of the area of Ljubljana to speak even more harshly and maturely about foreignness and borders, about being destined to be an eternal refugee because of national, urban and generational prejudices, as Ignacija J. Fridl wrote in the justification of the nomination.

The Committee of the City of Ljubljana for Župančič Awards was comprised of its President, Academic Prof Dr Milček Komelj, and members Dr Ignacija J. Fridl, Matevž Čelik, Varja Močnik, Prof Dr Gregor Pompe, Assoc Prof Dr Tomaž Toporišič and Vojko Vidmar.