Cultural Directory of Slovakia - all

Next is an international festival of new and experimental music organised annually by Atrakt Art in Bratislava since 2000. Its main role is twofold: to present outstanding personalities from the international scene of 'advanced' music and to offer upcoming young musicians from Slovakia and neighbouring countries a chance to perform on stage.
Established in 2003 and operating at A4 - zero space, Bratislava until 2005, burundi was a media lab working between the arts, science and technologies; burundi datalab incorporated a mediatheque, burundi studio brought together technically-oriented artists in collaborative projects, burundi displej represented a convergence of the new media gallery, cinema and presentation space, and burundi press released the Anthology of New Media Literature in Slovak in 2006.
Monoskop is a collaborative wiki research on history of media art, set up in 2004 by the burundi media lab, Bratislava. It has continued to function since burundi's dissolution in 2005.
A project of the Experimental Studio of Slovak Radio, radioART is an experimental online music centre which aims to introduce experimental acoustic art to students of all musical tastes and skills. In addition to providing experimental music and acoustic art to listen to, it offers updates on new releases and concerts, links, downloads, and other news.
NAP Publishing Company publishes newspapers, journals and other periodicals, many in the Hungarian languages.
Located in the centre of the Dunajska Sterda, the Lilium Aurum Publishing house was established in 1991.Lilium Aurum means 'golden lily' in Latin, the lily symbolising light and life - mental power, respect for the law and the ability to perform one's Christian duties.
The Insita Triennial is a selective international art exhibition, the only of its kind in the world, designed to present the authentic values of untrained artistic expression – naïve art, art brut and outsiders' art.
The Grand Prix Insita is awarded at the international exhibition Insita - Triennial of Untrained Art, which is held annually in Bratislava. The laureate of the Grand Prix Insita is given the opportunity to present a solo exhibition of his or her work in the year following the event.
The International Festival of Television Programmes for Children and Youth seeks to present the best works of European and world television production for children and youth, the creative confrontation and reflection of the current development trends in television production for children and youth.
The Danube Prizes are awarded annually at the International Festival of Television Programmes for Children and Youth, organised by Slovak Television. Television companies and producers compete for the Prix Danube in the following categories: animated production, live-action production, documentary production, and educational programmes (all up to 17 years).
The Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic has presented an award since 2007 to outstanding figures that have significantly contributed to the development of artistic languages.
This honorary award is bestowed annually in recognition of a particular major endeavour in the preceding year, for lifelong work or for long-standing contribution to different areas of culture. It is presented by the Minister on the advice of a panel or at his or her own initiative. The Minister can give out maximum 12 awards annually.
The Tatra Bank Foundation was established in November 2004 with a mission to promote education and culture. The dominating focus of the foundation’s activities is education but its activities are also directed at promoting the arts and cultural monuments conservation and restoration.
The Fine Arts Fund is awarded annually to honour outstanding lifelong contributions and work in the field of fine arts. Nominations for the award may be submitted by representatives of professional associations, institutions and individuals, and the Council of the Fine Arts Fund decides the award.
The prize is annually awarded by the Visual Arts Fund, the Slovak section of IBBY and BIBIANA, the international house of arts for children, for the excellent work or, respectively, for the excellent lifetime achievement that has significantly contributed to the development of Slovak illustration art for children and youth.
The Slovak section of IBBY is a national section of International Board on Books for Young People – IBBY.
The Association of Fine Arts Theoreticians, Critics and Historians (ATKH) is a free, democratic, professional protective association of fine arts professional associtions of theoreticians, critics and historians. The main aim of ATKH is to to promote the development of Slovak fine arts and fairly evaluate fine arts cultura of the past and present in its whole extension. ATKH protects professional interests and rights of its members.Members of ATKH are:The Association of Modern Arts Historians (Združenie historikov moderného výtvarného umenia (ZHMVU)
The Marián Váross Award is presented annually by the Association of Fine Arts Theoreticians, Critics and Historians and the Fine Arts Fund to an author (or exceptionally to a team of authors) whose work clearly contributes to the development of art science in Slovakia in the fields of art theory and history. The award is named after Marián Váross (b 7 February 1923 Martin – d 21 November 1988 Bratislava), an outstanding Slovak art theoretician and historian. Nominations are made by members of the Association.
This award represents a prestigious recognition of outstanding lifelong work in the world of architecture – creative or pedagogic, scientific and research. It is given to an author or a team of authors for work that is instrumental in raising the standards and prestige of architectural work in Slovakia. It has been awarded since 1964 to mark the memory of major Slovak architect Emil Belluš (b 19 September 1899 Slovenská Ľupča – d 14 December 1979 Bratislava).
Named after Dušan Jurkovič (b 23 August 1868 Turá Lúka – d 21 December 1947 Bratislava), founder of modern Slovak architecture, the Dušan Jurkovič Award has been conferred since 1964 and by the Slovak Architects Association (SAS) since 1991. It is presented to an author or a team of authors for an implemented architectural or urbanistic work that has been instrumental in raising the standards and prestige of architectural or urbanistic work in Slovakia. It is bestowed annually by the Slovak Architects Association and the Fine Arts Fund.
The Martin Kusý Award is presented annually by the Slovak Architects Association (SAS) and the Fine Arts Fund in two categories: for works in the area of scientific research, history, theory and criticism of architecture and for the presentation in professional press; and for the presentation of architecture and architectural work in public national mass media (in press, on television and radio), for remarkable and consistent publicist, popularising, awareness-raising, editorial and journalistic activity, or for an outstanding endeavour implemented in the above areas.
Named after outstanding Slovak architect Jozef Lacko (b 19 January 1917 Zvolen – d 9 September 1978 Bratislava), the Jozef Lacko Award has been presented annually by the Slovak Architects Association (SAS) and the Fine Arts Fund in co-operation with schools with architectural orientation in the Slovak Republic since 1990 for the best undergraduate thesis in the academic year. The award is conferred without regard to the category and field of architecture, urbanism or interior design, or for theoretical thesis.
The Martin Benka Price is awarded annually to honour work in the field of theory, criticism and history of Slovak fine arts.
The Triple Rose Award 2009 was handed out to Peter Holka for his artistically compelling penetration into an authentic world of problems and feelings of children and young people of several generations.
The Association of Radio Creators is a professional organisation of radio creators which co-organises seminars and workshops devoted to history, trends and experiments in artistic, musical and dramatic radio production, particularly documentaries. It also awards various prizes, including the Award for the Best Modern Author of a Fairytale, the Award for the Best Traditional Fairytale and the Award for the Best Radio Fairytale Production of Slovak Radio.
These annual Awards and Prizes are gestures to give recognition to outstanding creative acts in the Slovak theatre and radio production. They are awarded by the Committee of the Section for Creative Activity in the Area of Radio, Theatre and Entertainment Industry in collaboration with artistic associations operating in this field.
The P O Hviezdoslav Award is conferred annually on a distinguished figure in Slovak studies abroad, for example a foreign translator of original Slovak literature and its promoter. It constitutes the highest award in this field. The P O Hviezdoslav Award has been around since 1972. From 1972-4 it was awarded by the Ministry of Culture, from 1975 by the Writers Association, and since 1989 by the Association of Slovak Writers Organisations (AOSS) and the Slovak Writers Society.
The M R Stefanik Conservative Institute is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation – a conservatively focused think-tank. Its mission is to articulate, disseminate and advocate conservative attitudes and values in Slovak society, notably in public life. It activities are focused on: economy and social policy; education and schools; internal and external policy; security; EU affairs; agrarian and environmental policies; regional policy; civil society; fighting corruption; and supporting culture and arts.
Formerly known as the International Forum of Young Performers, the New Talent – SPP Foundation Award competition is part of the Bratislava Music Festival which is organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) based in Geneva, under the auspices of UNESCO and the International Music Council (IMC), in co-operation with the Slovak Radio and the Slovak Philharmonic. It was initiated in 1969 by Sir Yehudi Menuhin. The purpose of the competition is to contribute to the career advancement of talented young musicians from Slovakia and from around Europe.
The SPP Foundation’s priority focus is on the development and promotion of education, development and preservation of cultural values, support for the disadvantaged groups amongst the population, health promotion, and support for charity and philanthropic activities.
The Ladislav Martoník Award is given for jazz music – major jazz work and interpretation. It was established in 1991 in honour of Slovak jazz musician Ladislav Martoník (b 28 December 1944 Košice – d 22 August 1968 Košice). Its award is decided by the Music Fund's Council on the nomination of the Slovak Jazz Society.
The Karol Pádivý Award is conferred annually for the development of brass band music to individuals and groups. It was established in 1991 in honour of brass band music composer and conductor Karol Pádivý (b 10 September 1908 Dolní Cerekev – d 25 September 1965 Trenčín). Its award is decided by the Music Fund's Council on the nomination of the Association Brass Bands of Slovakia.
The Pavol Tonkovič Award is presented for an original act and contribution in the area of music folklore to individuals and groups. It was established in 1991 to commemorate conductor, composer, and folklorist Pavol Tonkovič (b 13 January 1907 Podkonice – d 22 May 1980 Bratislava). The award is decided by the Musical Fund's Council at the nomination of the Music Folklore Association.
The Jozef Kresánek Award for musicological, publicist and critical creation was established in 1991 to commemorate musicologist and composer Jozef Kresánek (b 20 December 1913 Čičmany – d 14 March 1986 Bratislava).
The Frico Kafenda Award is conferred annually to individuals and organisations for excellent interpretive performance in the area of concert art. It was established in 1964 to commemorate Slovak composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue Frico Kafenda (b 2 October 1883 Mošovce – d 3 September 1963 Bratislava).
The Jan Levoslav Bella Award is conferred annually for a work of music or creation which has enriched Slovak music. The award was launched in 1963 in honour of Jan Levoslav Bella (b 4 September 1843 Liptovský Sv Mikuláš – d 25 May 1936 Bratislava), one of the first Slovak composers and the author of the first Slovak opera Kováč Wieland (Blacksmith Wieland).
The SOZA Awards give public recognition for the distinguished contribution of authors of music works which have been particularly successful in the music life of Slovakia.
International Theatre Festival Divadelná Nitra
The Zentiva Award aims to encourage creativity amongst young filmmakers and to allow them to work in the audiovisual sphere.
The Febiofest International Film, Television and Video Festival is an event focused on Czech cinematography (films of the Czech production). The organisers of the festival include the Association of Slovak Film Clubs (ASFK), the Slovak Film Institute and Febio s r o, Prague.
The Camera Award is given annually to Slovak cinematographers for outstanding directorial achievement and visual effects in the following major categories: feature film, television movie, documentary film, advertising and life's work.
Launched in 2005 and updated on a daily basis, Kinema.sk is the largest and most widely read Internet film magazine in Slovakia. Its purpose is to choose the best films shown in Slovak cinemas in the preceding year, giving credit to the work of film distributors and cinema owners, creators and organisers in the area of audiovisual culture.
The Director of the National Centre of Centre has presented awards to outstanding figures and prominent representatives of local and regional culture, amateur artistic production and traditional folk culture in Slovakia since 1996.
The Creative Act of the Year Award is the top-level recognition for amateur theatre-makers in Slovakia. It is presented at the Scenic Harvest festival in Martine, the leading festival in the area of non-professional theatre in Slovakia which features winners of national shows of all genres and categories of amateur theatre of the season. The award has been given out since 1976. The best amateur theatre companies are among the award recipients.
The Biennale of Imagination is an international contest and exhibition of children’s art creativity. Its mission is to develop children’s sensitivity and imagination through drawing, and to enable creative confrontation through the presentation of artistic expression of children from different countries.
The Central European Music Festival is an international classical music festival which has been held annually since 1991 in Žilina. It is a showcase of leading talents in classical interpretive art from Slovakia and other European countries, mostly the Central European region. It provides room for sharing cultural values and confronting the interpretive skills of prominent young artists from Europe.
The Johann Nepomuk Hummel International Piano Contest bears the name of the pianist and composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel (b 14 November 1778 Bratislava – d 17 October 1837 Weimar), a native of Bratislava, in whose work blend the elements of late Classicism and early Romanticism. It has taken place in Bratislava since 2003 and is the member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions. The Slovak Philharmonic is the organiser, and the Contest’s President is Professor Marián Lapšanský, General Director of the Slovak Philharmonic.
International Student Film Festival Early Melons is an artistic event, focusing on various aspects of young art, connected with cinematography. Main aim of the festival is to present European student cinematography from the latest period with a special zoom on films from region of V4. Besides this, Early Melons connect various fields of art, e.g. photography, music and video-art. Main goal is to create an island of young art during five days and get together student filmmakers from EU countries.
Launched in 1996, the Oskár Čepan Award is a competition of young talents in fine arts. Since 2001 it has been named in honour of distinguished Slovak art and literary theoretician, historian, critic, essayist, editor and painter Oskár Čepan (b 27 February 1925 Cífer – d 3 September 1992 Bratislava), author of numerous studies on fine arts.
Formerly the Bratislava branch of the US-based Foundation for a Civil Society, Nadácia pre občiansku spoločnosť become a wholly independent, sustainable NGO in 1997.
The Biennial of Free Visual Arts is a regular Slovak national exhibition of free arts organised by the Slovak Union of Visual Artists and featuring the work of members of the SVÚ and its guests. Its purpose is to support the creation of professional Slovak visual artists involved in free arts and to highlight original contemporary Slovak production.
The Biennial of Applied Arts is a regular Slovak national exhibition of applied visual arts involving work by members of the Slovak Union of Visual Arts (SVÚ) and their guests. The purpose of the project is to draw attention to original Slovak contemporary art creation and to promote the creation of professional Slovak artists devoting to applied arts.
The Painting Competition - VÚB Foundation Award is a long-term project of the VÚB Foundation aimed at supporting the creation of young artists and creating the conditions for their establishment on the professional artistic scene.
The civic association literarnyklub.sk is a follower of activities related to KK Bagala and Modrý Peter publishing houses, Literárna a kultúrna agentúra LCA (Literature and Cultural Agency LCA) and Román 2006 Civic Association (Novel 2006 Civic Association). Their long-term aim is to support and promote national literature creation.
Held annually since 1996, this competition is announced by K K Bagala and LCA – Koloman Kertész Bagala, publisher of original Slovak literature. The mission of the competition is to identify new prose writers and to give young talented authors a chance. The competition is public and anonymous. Any author who has written a short story in the Slovak language that has not yet been published may enter it in the competition. Ten authors are awarded annually – the first three places and seven financial prizes.
This literary competition is designed to search for new young prosaic prose writers and encourage their talents. It is named in memory of writer Rudolf Jašík (b 2 December 1919 Turzovka – d 30 July 1960 Bratislava) whose substantial body of literary creation is linked to the Kysuce region. The competition is open to authors aged up to 35 years, with short prose works not previously published. Each year some 50-60 young authors participate in the competition.
The Arthur Competition in the writing of original dramatic text for children and youth is run annually by the Puppet Theatre Žilina and the Theatre Institute from 2003. The purpose of the competition is to encourage original writing of Slovak drama for children and youth. The competition provides room for creation, presentation and staging of original dramatic texts, theatre plays, dramatisations, collective works, collages and serial shows for children and youth in the Slovak language.
The Radio Production Festival is a competitive festival of radio production which aims to present and confront productions of radio plays and radio documentaries. Originating as the Festival of Original Radio Plays in Piešťany, and later in Bojnice, it celebrated its 20th year in 2007 with a relaunch in Bratislava with a new title and a new concept.
The purpose of the Magic Nut festival is to offer presentations and competitive confrontations between radio drama productions, and meetings of producers with listeners to radio fairy tales and bedtime story programmes – including children and their parents, teachers and librarians.
The Áčko Students' Film Festival is an open competitive festival of school audiovisual works created as part of university study in the field of film art and multimedia or related fields at a university based in the Slovak Republic. It is also open to school audiovisual works created at higher education institutions abroad.
Since 2002 the production company Art Script has been running the screenwriting competition for young authors aged up to 35 years. The project’s author is Silvia Králová-Panáková, and its guarantors are Ondrej Šulaj and Dagmar Ditrichová. The purpose of the competition is to foster the development of original feature-length live-action film screenwriting in Slovakia.
This national competition for soloist dancers in folk dance with international participation is held annually. The mission of the competition is to spur the interest of artistic directors, choreographers and members of folk ensembles and groups in seeking traditional authentic dancing material, its original interpretation and high-quality scenic rendition, taking account of its original form and protagonists; to create opportunities for the presentation of dancers – soloists that are not organised in folk ensembles and groups; and present to the public the values of folk dance.
The National Competitive Festival of Creative Choreographies is held every three years is a competitive festival of folkloric choreography which embraces everything from folklore collective to chamber choreography (up to 6 dancers) and large form (over 6 interpreted).
Under Likava Castle is the national children’s folklore festival and competitive show of children’s folkloric ensembles. Its mission is to foster the development of children’s folkloric ensembles, raise their artistic level, popularise education through folk art, and highlight the significance of folklore in the comprehensive education, encouraging deeper knowledge of folk traditions and guiding children to learning about traditions directly from their protagonists.
The Children’s Folk Music Festival is a national competitive festival of children’s ensembles and soloists, which features interpreters of musical folklore such as children’s folk music bodies, singers groups, soloist singers and instrumentalists. The festival’s mission is to encourage and develop a love of folklore in children and to spur their interest in pursuing activity in this direction, facilitating the presentation of the results of this work to the public and confronting them with results of others. Equally the festival seeks to identify new musicians and singing talents.
Scenic Harvest is the oldest festival of non-professional theatre in Europe. Organised annually, Scenic Harvest is the top-level national festival of winners of amateur theatre competitions, including international participation.
Hviezdoslav's Kubín is a national advancement competition in children’s recitation and in the artistic recitation of poetry and prose by groups, individuals and poetry theatres. Its mission is to deepen literary knowledge, foster creativity, cultivate language and speech and thus to refine attitudes to the cultural and artistic value of the spoken word.
Visual Art Spectrum is a national non-professional visual competition whose mission is to encourage non-professional visual art creation in all genres, in a regional and national context, and to provide opportunities for the assessment of its level in any particular period and for the further education of amateur visual artists by means of its analytical seminar. It covers free visual art disciplines (drawing, painting, graphic art, sculpture, applied arts and works of intermedia nature).
CINEAMA is the national creative competition and festival of amateur filmmaking and video production.
The AMFO national competition of amateur photography is the oldest and largest national competition of its kind in Slovakia. Its main mission is to create opportunities for confrontation and evaluation of results of contemporary amateur photographers in Slovakia.
Launched in 1984, Divertimento musicale is the national advancement competitive festival of chamber and symphonic music. The mission of the festival is to encourage talented instrumentalists in different chamber and instrumental groupings, and to promote and further develop their artistic and concert activity in the area of classical music and compare their results.
Held every two years, Youth Sings is a two-level (regional and national rounds) competitive national advancement festival of children’s and youth choirs. The mission of the competition is to cultivate song as one of significant attributes of modern man culture, teaching appreciation of the beauty of music through singing and thus not only bringing about continuity in singing expression but also creating prerequisites for extending the listeners' base for classical music and orientation to higher cultural and spiritual values.
Literary Zvolen - literary contest is a national competition in literary writing for authors, members of literary clubs and literary interest groups.
Why am I Happy to Be in the World is a national anti-drug visual art project with international participation.
Lutheran pastor and polymath Matej Bel (Hungarian Bél Mátyás) was born 22 March 1684 in Očová and died on 29 August 1749 in Pressburg (Bratislava) where he is buried. He described himself as 'by language a Slav, by nation a Hungarian, by erudition a German'.Bel was an outstanding scholar, active in the fields of pedagogy, philosophy, philology, history, and theoretical theology; he was the founder of Hungarian geographic science and a pioneer in the fields of descriptive ethnography and economy.
Anton Bernolák (born 3 October 1762 in Slanica, died 15 January 1813 in Nové Zámky) was a Catholic priest and founder of standard Slovak. He studied in Pressburg (present-day Bratislava), Trnava and Vienna, and in 1787 was consecrated as a priest.
Priest and national revivalist Ján Hollý (b Borský Mikulas 1785–d Dobra Voda 1849) was a poet and translator who wrote in Bernolákovcina, Anton Bernolak's codified Slovak. He was one of the greatest Slovak and Slavic poets and a key representative of classicism in Slovak literature.Hollý created a substantial body of his works in the village of Madunice, where he liked to write poems in the Mlíč woods under an old oak tree.
Ľudovít Štúr (1815-1856) was the leader of the Slovak national revival in the 19th century and the author of the Slovak language standard which gave rise to the contemporary Slovak literary language.
The Rusyn Revival in Slovakia is active in meeting the cultural needs of the Ruthenian national minority. It organises cultural events such as the Figliarska nôta Festival and provides methodological and technical assistance in the development of cultural activities, including both live and written culture, for example, by issuing recordings of the most successful performances of the first two years of the Figliarska nôta Festival.
Rusyns have been part of the indigenous population along the southern and northern slopes of the north-central Carpathian mountain chain for many centuries. Nowadays this territory forms part of four countries - Ukraine (Transcarpathian area), Poland (mostly Lemko region in the south-eastern part of the country), Slovakia and Romania (Marmarosh territory).
The Ukrainian-Ruthenian Association of the Slovak Republic promotes and presents the folkloric cultural traditions of the Ruthenian-Ukrainian community as well as organising annual festivals such as the Festival of Ruthenian-Ukrainian Folklore and the Slovak Festival of Ruthenian-Ukrainian Culture.
The Polish Club - Association of Poles and their Friends in Slovakia is a social and cultural organisation of citizens of the Slovak Republic of Polish nationality, citizens of the Republic of Poland living in the territory of the Slovak Republic and citizens of the Slovak Republic with a Polish cultural legacy. The organisation has set itself the objective to create the conditions for the social, cultural, scientific and sports development of its members and supporters and the promotion and development of Polish culture.
The Croatian Cultural Association in Slovakia is the national body of the Croatian national minority in Slovakia. It was founded at a Croatian Congress in 1990 on the initiative of Croatian Cultural Associations in Cunovo, Devinska Nova Ves, Jarovce and Chorvátsky Grob.
The 'Christo Botev' Cultural Association of Bulgarians and their Friends in Slovakia is a voluntary association of Slovak citizens with Bulgarian nationality, Bulgarian citizens permanently residing in the territory of Slovakia and Slovak friends of the Bulgarian nation.
The Cultural Association of Roma in Slovakia implements a range of educational and free-time programmes that aim to improving the living standards of Roma citizens in Slovakia.
Meeting in Bratislava in July 2002 at the standing conference 'Slovak Republic and Slovaks Living Abroad', Slovaks from all around the world put their heads together and agreed that they needed a tool to be able to speak out efficiently and for their words to be taken seriously. They needed a tool of global nature, ie an organisation of Slovaks living and working all around the world.
The Museum of Roma Culture SNM is a specialised branch museum of the Slovak National Museum, situated close to the Slovak Open Air Village Museum SNM in Martin. It was established in 2002 and its mission is to present Roma culture and to inform visitors of its particularities.
Museum of Ruthenian Culture SNM in Prešov, which focuses on history and culture of Ruthenian ethnic minority in Slovakia, was established in 2007. Its mission is to acquire, preserve, process and make available to the public the museum collections, which document the evolution of material and spiritual culture of Ruthenians in the Slovak Republic.
The Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of Carpathian Mountain Area inscribed on the World Heritage List illustrate the coexistence of different religious faiths within a small territory of central Europe.

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