ANGOLA: 2007 "NATIONAL PRIZE FOR CULTURE & THE ARTS"

The Angolan “National Prize for Culture and the Arts” is awarded each year in the fields of Visual Arts, Music, Dance, Cinema and Audiovisuals, Literature, Theater and Research in the Human and Social Sciences. Created in 2000 by the Ministry of Culture, the award, whose monetary value is USD 35 thousand, aims at promoting artistic creativity and quality and scientific research in the country as well as to celebrate the national cultural and linguistic diversity.

According to the public and only daily angolan newspaper, Jornal de Angola, during this year’s announcement, Culture Minister Boaventura Cardoso said “this prize, like any other, always generates contestation or heated discussions. However, what is important to retain is that its objective is to award those who were considered the best in their respective fields by each year’s juri.”

This year’s awardees, announced a few days ago, were:

Cinema and Audiovisuals: The TPA (Public Television) show “Conversas de Quintal”
Dance: Group “Bismas das Acacias”, from the Benguela province
Literature: Poet Ana Paula Tavares for “Manual para Amantes Desesperados”
Music: Singer and composer Elias Dya Kimuezo for his lifelong work
Visual Arts: Painter and sculptor Rui de Matos (posthumously)
Research in the Human and Social Sciences: Antonio Costa for his investigation on the relationship between the Portuguese and Bantu languages
Theater: Group “Horizonte Njinga Mbande”

Personally, while congratulating the winners, I look forward to a time when privately-sponsored awards of this kind will come along to promote an even greater quality and diversity (specially political) in each of the currently considered, and possibly other, categories.

The Angolan “National Prize for Culture and the Arts” is awarded each year in the fields of Visual Arts, Music, Dance, Cinema and Audiovisuals, Literature, Theater and Research in the Human and Social Sciences. Created in 2000 by the Ministry of Culture, the award, whose monetary value is USD 35 thousand, aims at promoting artistic creativity and quality and scientific research in the country as well as to celebrate the national cultural and linguistic diversity.

According to the public and only daily angolan newspaper, Jornal de Angola, during this year’s announcement, Culture Minister Boaventura Cardoso said “this prize, like any other, always generates contestation or heated discussions. However, what is important to retain is that its objective is to award those who were considered the best in their respective fields by each year’s juri.”

This year’s awardees, announced a few days ago, were:

Cinema and Audiovisuals: The TPA (Public Television) show “Conversas de Quintal”
Dance: Group “Bismas das Acacias”, from the Benguela province
Literature: Poet Ana Paula Tavares for “Manual para Amantes Desesperados”
Music: Singer and composer Elias Dya Kimuezo for his lifelong work
Visual Arts: Painter and sculptor Rui de Matos (posthumously)
Research in the Human and Social Sciences: Antonio Costa for his investigation on the relationship between the Portuguese and Bantu languages
Theater: Group “Horizonte Njinga Mbande”

Personally, while congratulating the winners, I look forward to a time when privately-sponsored awards of this kind will come along to promote an even greater quality and diversity (specially political) in each of the currently considered, and possibly other, categories.