Romanian visual artists Lia and Dan Perjovschi and the German conductor Yoel Gamzou recently won the Princess Margriet Prize of the European Cultural Foundation. The award ceremony will take place on March 19 in Brussels, in the presence of the Princess Margriet of The Netherlands.

Lia and her husband Dan Perjovschi (in picture) are visual artists who have already made important contributions to the Romanian and international art scenes. The two artists were selected by the jury for the role their art has played in building a cultural community in Romania, as well as for its European impact. Working together, the Perjovschis also turned their studio into an accessible space , supporting cultural and education activities.  We wrote about Dan Perjovschi in our Famous Romanians piece here. 

German Yoel Gamzou is artistic director and conductor of the International Mahler Orchestra, bandmaster and deputy musical director of the Staatstheater Kassel. The Princess Margriet Award jury chose Yoel Gamzou for his talent and energy that has inspired generations of musicians and spectators from all over Europe. Gamzou challenges conventional structures of classical music, helping to democratize the genre.

The award is intended as a platform for the support given by the European Cultural Foundation to artists whose creations can have an influence on European societies. The prize is EUR 25,000 for each laureate.

The list of artists who won the prize in previous years includes theoretician Stuart Hall, choreographers Jérôme Bel and Pichet Klunchun, playwright and activist Borka Pavicevic, director Stefan Kaegi (from Rimini Protokoll) artists Kutluğ, Ataman and Šejla Kamer, film director John Akomfrah and curator Charles Esche.

The Princess Margriet Prize was awarded for the first time in 2008, by the European Cultural Foundation. The award is organized via a partnership between the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ioana Toader, ioana.toader@romania-insider.com