Estonia: The laureates of the achievement awards for culture and sport were announced

NordenBladet — On February 11th, the government decided that the Lifetime Achievement Awards for Culture will be awarded to Eha Komissarov, Tiit Pääsuke and Enn Säde. The Lifetime Achievement Awards for Sport will be awarded to Õnne Pollisinski and Gunnar Paal. The government’s decisions are based on the proposals made by the respective commissions.

“The Culture and Sports Awards are the highest recognition through which the government expresses its gratitude and recognizes the people of culture and sports. These people have enriched and passed on our national idea and have been an inspiration to many of our compatriots with their achievements, “said Minister of Culture Anneli Ott.

Culture awards

Lifetime Achievement Award winner, art historian and curator Eha Komissarov has worked at the Art Museum of Estonia since 1973, and during this century been one of the creators and promoters of the Kumu Art Museum’s programme. She has been a teacher and mentor to many younger artists and curators and and actively supported the organization of the Tallinn Print Triennial as well as other important art events and undertakings. According to those who nominated her, she can be considered to be the mother of Estonian contemporary art – how we see art and what we understand to be art has been largely shaped and influenced by Komissarov. She was nominated for the State Lifetime Achievement Award by the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art.

Lifetime Achievement Award winner, painter Tiit Pääsuke will celebrate his 80th jubilee birthday in December of this year. Last year, a survey exhibition of his work called Nostalgiata opened at the Tartu Art Museum. According to those who nominated him, Pääsuke is a living legend among our painters. He has been a teacher and keeper of traditions for a long time. He was also nominated for the State Lifetime Achievement Award by the Estonian Academy of Arts, the Estonian Artists’ Association, the Art Hall Foundation, and Tartu Art Museum, as well as Kadri Mälk and Jaan-Eik Tulve.

Lifetime Achievement Award winner, sound engineer and sound director Enn Säde has worked on 25 feature films and 80 documentaries. Among many others, these include feature films like Tuulte pesa, Naerata ometi, TV-miniseries Lindpriid, and the documentary Nõialoom. According to those nominating him, Säde’s work has significantly impacted the next generation of filmmakers. He was nominated by the Association of Estonian Film Journalists, Estonian Film Institute, Black Nights Film Festival, Estonian Filmmakers Association, Sõprus Cinema, Estonian Film Industry Cluster, as well as Rein Maran, Toivo-Peep Puks and Rein Raamat.

The amount of each Lifetime Achievement Award for Culture is €64,000.

Five annual national culture prizes will be awarded. The recipients are Jiři Tintěra, for his work in the city of Valga; the artist Flo Kasearu, for her solo exhibitions; as well as art historian, curator and playwright Eero Epner, for his work in all these areas. The annual award will also be awarded to the prolific internationally renowned jazz musician Jaak Sooäär and art historians Epp Lankots and Triin Ojari, who have studied leisure culture in 20^th-century Estonia.

The amount of the annual prize is €9,600. In the case of a creative team, the prize money will be divided among the team members.

Sports awards

Lifetime Achievement Award winner and swimming coach Õnne Pollisinski has made a long-term contribution as an Estonian underwater sports coach, leader of the relevant sport association, and developer of the sport. She has promoted swimming as a sport for Estonians with special needs. In addition, under Pollisinski’s guidance, Estonia has won many medals at title competitions. She was nominated by the Estonian Paralympic Swimming Association, and her nomination was supported by the Estonian Society of Patients with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, the Estonian Underwater Association and the Down Syndrome Association.

Lifetime Achievement Award winner, journalist and sport leader Gunnar Paal will receive the award for his significant contribution as a sports leader and sports journalist. He was one of the managers of the Tallinn Sailing Regatta Press Center for the Moscow Olympic Games and the Secretary General of the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK) from 1989 to 1997. Currently Paal is an honorary member of the Estonian Olympic Committee. He is a founding member of the Estonian Olympic Academy and has written several works on Estonian sports and the Olympic movement. He was nominated by the Estonian Olympic Academy.

The amount of each Lifetime Achievement Award for Sport is €40 000. 

The annual prizes for sport will be awarded to Kelly Sildaru for her gold medals in the Junior World Championships and Winter X Games in slopestyle and volleyball coach Avo Keel taking the Latvian team to the finals of the European Championship. The winners of annual awards also include the following: Urmo Aava, for organising the first WRC Estonia; trainer-of-the-year Anna Levandi; rally driver Ken Torn, for coming in first in the final round of the ERC3 and ERC3 Junior season; and Natalja Inno and Peeter Lusmägi for successful organisation of a sports week.

The amount of each annual prize is €9,600. In the case of a sports team, the prize money will be divided among the team members.

The national culture and sports prizes, along with the national science prizes and the Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann Language Prize, will be awarded on February 23rd, the eve of Estonian Independence Day, in the hall of the Estonian Academy of Sciences.