# Baltic Assembly Prize for Literature, the Arts and Science

The Baltic Assembly Prize for Literature, the Arts and Science is an award given annually by the Baltic Assembly for achievements in three categories: literature, art and science.
The prize is an annual award given to a citizen of Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania "for outstanding achievements" in three categories: literature, art and science. It was awarded for the first time in 1994 and consists of a statuette, a diploma and a sum of money, presently (2016) 5,000 euro. It is awarded during the formal session of the assembly. A joint jury consisting of three persons per prize make the decision on whom to award the prize. The purpose of the award is according to the Baltic Assembly to "demonstrate the common interests of the countries in this region in upholding of their national identity and self-esteem; create an opportunity to learn about the achievements of the neighbouring countries; maintain a continuous interest among the people in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania about developments in the Baltic States; strengthen cooperation among the Baltic States in the fields of literature, the arts and science; encourage more and more people to become interested in the intellectual values and languages of the Baltic nations; and raise the level of literature, the arts and science in the Baltic States."

## List of recipients of the Baltic Assembly Prize for Literature

The following list is based on the official webpage of the Baltic Assembly.
| Year | Recipient of the award | Country | Rationale |
| 1994 | Tõnu Õnnepalu | Estonia | "for his novel "The Border Land"" |
| 1995 | Uldis Bērziņš | Latvia | "for his collections of poetry "Stepsounds of Insects", "Time" and "Poetry"" |
| 1996 | Judita Vaičiūnaitė | Lithuania | "for her poetry collection "Wreaths of Zemyna"" |
| 1997 | Jaan Kaplinski | Estonia | "for the essays and poetry of the past three years" |
| 1998 | Sigitas Geda | Lithuania | "for the poetical metamorphoses during the past three years" |
| 1999 | Jaan Kross | Estonia | "for his novel "Standstill Flight"" |
| 2000 | Jānis Rokpelnis | Latvia | "for his collection of poems "Lyrics", (1999)" |
| 2001 | Justinas Marcinkevičius | Lithuania | "for his recent lyrical poetry, particularly for the collection of poems "Carmina Minora"" |
| 2002 | Jaan Tätte | Estonia | "for his plays "The Bridge and Happy Everyday!"" |
| 2003 | Vytautas Bubnys | Lithuania | "for his novel "In a Dove’s Flutter"" |
| 2004 | Pēters Brūveris | Latvia | "for his poetry book "The Landscape of Language" and publications during the past three years" |
| 2005 | Hasso Krull | Estonia | "for his collection of poetry “Meeter ja Demeeter” (“Metre and Demeter”)" |
| 2006 | Nora Ikstena | Latvia | "for her book "The Undefined One"(2006), and for the unique collaboration with the Latvian poet Imants Ziedonis, as well as for humanism and the significant work in the field of culture" |
| 2007 | Marcelijus Martinaitis | Lithuania | "for his books “K.B. Suspected” (2004) and “Silent discourses” (2006)" |
| 2008 | Knuts Skujenieks | Latvia | "for his Works in eight volumes, which contain high-quality poetry of particular value, written in prison and in a camp for political prisoners in Mordovia, where poet as Soviet dissident, spent seven years" |
| 2009 | Inga Ābele | Latvia | "for the novel “Paisums” (eng. Tide) (2008)" |
| 2010 | Ene Mihkelson | Estonia | "for her collected poetry “Torn” (Tower, 2010)" |
| 2011 | Arvydas Juozaitis | Lithuania | "for his book "Riga - No One's Civilization" (2011)" |
| 2012 | Aivars Kļavis | Latvia | "for his tetralogy “On the Other Side of the Gate” (Viņpus vārtiem, 1995-2012)" |
| 2013 | Donaldas Kajokas | Lithuania | "for his poetry “To the deaf little donkey”, 2011, and the novel “The Lake and its escorting persons”, 2012" |
| 2014 | Peeter Sauter | Estonia | "for his novel “Do Not Leave Me Alone” (“Ära jäta mind rahule”), 2012" |
| 2015 | Māris Bērziņš | Latvia | "for his novel “The Taste of Lead”, 2015" |
| 2016 | Sigitas Parulskis | Lithuania | "for his latest creative work, his broad and sharp worldview, his ability to grasp fundamental issues and his contemporary poetics" |
| 2017 | Vladas Braziūnas | Lithuania | "for his poetic discoveries made while delving into the Baltic worldview and the linguistic heritage of the Lithuanian, Latvian and other languages and as well as for his translations from Latvian and other languages and outstanding international projects on modern poetry" |
| 2018 | Gundega Repše | Latvia | "for the idea and concept of the historical novel series “Us. Latvia. XX century”, the curating of the publication of 13 novels in the series, as well as for the novel “Bogene” as one of the novels in the series" |
| 2019 | Leelo Tungal | Estonia | "for her autobiographic trilogy "Comrade Kid" (Tänapäev, 2018), with a special emphasis on the last book of the series "A Woman’s Touch" (Tänapäev, 2018), where Stalin’s era is depicted through the eyes of a child" |
| 2020 | Birutė Jonuškaitė | Lithuania | "for her novel cycle "Maranta" and "Maestro", which belong with the long, branched-out texts that weave numerous storylines and created detailed characters, which possess the versatility and depth of the classic canon, and which raise the language to the appropriate heights also for the hefty book of conversations "Laikas ir likimai" ("Time and Destiny")" |
| 2021 | Vahur Afanasjev | Estonia | "for his novel “Serafima ja Bogdan” (“Serafima and Bogdan”, published in 2017)" |
| 2022 | Kai Aareleid | Estonia | "for her novel “Vaikne ookean” (“Pacific Ocean”, published in 2021)" |
| 2023 | Antanas A. Jonynas | Lithuania | "for the collection of sonnets Naujieji sonetai" |

## List of recipients of the Baltic Assembly Prize for the Arts

The following list is based on the official webpage of the Baltic Assembly.
| Year | Recipient of the award | Country | Rationale |
| 1994 | Eimuntas Nekrošius | Lithuania | "for his stage productions of recent years (in particular plays by Chekhov, Shakespeare, Pushkin, Gogol)" |
| 1995 | Peeter Mudist | Estonia | "for paintings of the past two years" |
| 1996 | Pēteris Vasks | Latvia | "for his Concerto for Cello and Symphony Orchestra, string music “Quasi una sonata” with piano solo, Third String Quartet and music for three poems of Czeslaw Milosz for a vocal group" |
| 1997 | Gidons Krēmers | Latvia | "for promoting the musical culture of the Baltic States throughout the world" |
| 1998 | Erkki-Sven Tüür | Estonia | "for the musical creativity during the past three years" |
| 1999 | Mindaugas Bauzys | Lithuania | "for the roles during the past three years which have revealed him as an artist-creator" |
| 2000 | Veljo Tormis | Estonia | "for his compositions during the past three years" |
| 2001 | Ilmars Blumbergs | Latvia | "for his creative achievements and originality of style presented in the set designs for Mozart’s "The Magic Flute" and the exhibition “Windows”" |
| 2002 | Biruta Baumane | Latvia | "for her professional achievements demonstrated at a large-scale solo exhibition at the exhibition hall "Arsenāls" in 2002 and for her rich contribution to the development of painting, as well as for her autobiographical book "I Am Living" (2002)" |
| 2003 | Jaan Toomik | Estonia | "for his creative work as artist and organiser of art activities in recent years" |
| 2004 | Mindaugas Navakas | Lithuania | "for promoting art processes in the Baltic States" |
| 2005 | Vilnius String Quartet | Lithuania | "for their particular understanding of cultural mission, consistent work and broad scope of their undertakings" |
| 2006 | Andres Tali | Estonia | "for his works that touch existential problems of human life, and in the shallowness and rush of today's world find time and place for the most human questions of loneliness and relations, truth and lie" |
| 2007 | Silvija Radzobe | Latvia | "for her contribution to preparing the book “Theatre Production in the Baltic States” (2006), namely, for initiating, managing and executing this project" |
| 2008 | Petras Vyšniauskas | Lithuania | "for the presentation of the Baltic Jazz in the world, fruitful and intensive activity, important to the stage of Baltic Jazz and other genres, work comprising concert tours, teaching, recording and the preparation of various projects" |
| 2009 | Marko Mäetamm | Estonia | "for his high professional and successful exhibitions and achievements of the last years on the Baltic and international scene" |
| 2010 | Antanas Žukauskas | Lithuania | "for professionally communicating the past values in fine art, striking the right balance between the modern and the traditional, and for promoting the Baltic identity in the world" |
| 2011 | Andris Nelsons | Latvia | "for his outstanding achievements in promoting the performing arts and creating a positive image of Latvia and the Baltic States in the world" |
| 2012 | Visible Solutions LLC | Estonia | "for the artistic achievements in integrating Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian art scenes into one arena of discussion" |
| 2013 | Peeter Vähi | Estonia | "for composing the Oratorio „Maria Magdalena“, 2011, that is composed on gospel texts in original Coptic language" |
| 2014 | Alvis Hermanis | Latvia | "for his creative directorial achievements conducting numerous theatre plays and particularly theatre play “Oblomow”, 2011" |
| 2015 | Modestas Pitrėnas | Lithuania | "for his creative endeavours to advance the idea of interaction amongst the cultures of all the three Baltic States and to further their cultural promotion on the European and global scale by conducting numerous plays and concerts in performance venues and theatres in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia" |
| 2016 | Kristijonas Vildžiūnas | Lithuania | "for his film “Seneca’s Day”, which is the first Estonian-Latvian-Lithuanian co-production project (2016)" |
| 2017 | Laima Slava | Latvia | "for the excellent professional contribution to the theory development of the art science, as well as for the outstanding achievement in the book publishing sector, especially in publishing of art books, which significantly have enriched the current cultural landscape and furthermore foster the international recognition of Latvian culture" |
| 2018 | Jurgita Dronina | Lithuania | "for her impressive performances on the greatest stages of the world" |
| 2019 | Normunds Šnē | Latvia | "the performance at the concert in honour of 100-year anniversary of the Baltic states in the prominent Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm's Berwaldhallen on August 28, 2018, with Sinfonietta Rīga and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra" |
| 2020 | Kristīne Briede and Audrius Stonys | Latvia Lithuania | "for meditative documentary essay "Bridges of Time" (2018), which was co-produced by Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian studios and portrays the less-remembered generation of cinema poets of the Baltic New Wave" |
| 2021 | Ginta Gerharde-Upeniece | Latvia | "for the direction of the international exhibition project “Wild Souls. Symbolism in the Art of the Baltic States”" |
| 2022 | Šarūnas Sauka | Lithuania | "for his phantasmagorical nightmare visions and hallucinations, which are rooted in reality, fed by biblical and literary visual images of hell, paradise, and purgatory, which have evolved through the history of fine arts" |
| 2023 | Peeter Laurits | Estonia | "for his outstanding and versatile work as an artist and for his project Biotoopia" |

## List of recipients of the Baltic Assembly Prize for Science

The following list is based on the official webpage of the Baltic Assembly.
| Year | Recipient of the award | Country | Rationale |
| 1994 | Andris Caune | Latvia | "for research series on the history of Riga conducted in 1991-1994" |
| 1995 | Juozas Kulys | Lithuania | "for his research series on biochemistry and biophysics" |
| 1996 | Juhan Maiste | Estonia | "for research series on “The Classical Tradition in Estonian Art: 1530-1830”" |
| 1997 | Rimute Rimantiene | Lithuania | "for archaeological investigations on the history and art of the Baltic States" |
| 1998 | Jānis Krastiņš | Latvia | "for his achievements in researching Riga’s Art Nouveau architecture" |
| 1999 | Janina Kursite | Latvia | "for the publications during the past three years and a monograph on the mythical elements in Baltic folklore, literature and art" |
| 2000 | Silvestras Gaiziunas | Lithuania | "for his scholarly work and activity in developing cultural ties among Baltic, Scandinavian and European nations" |
| 2001 | Raimo Pullat | Estonia | "for his research works dealing with the history of Estonia, the Baltic States and towns in the 18th century and in 1917-1941" |
| 2002 | Algirdas Gaizutis | Lithuania | "for his significant contribution to art research and a book of essays "A Glance" (2001)" |
| 2003 | Elita Grosmane | Latvia | "for her comprehensive scholarly monograph "Baroque Sculpture of Kurzeme: 1660-1740"" |
| 2004 | Arvo Krikmann | Estonia | "for his empirical research on the cognitive theory of figurative language “The Contribution of Contemporary Theory of Metaphor to Paremiology” and for presenting a theoretical concept relating to the developments in the theory of metaphor" |
| 2005 | Evalds Mugurevics | Latvia | "for his research on the medieval chronicles about Livonia" |
| 2006 | Gediminas Valkiūnas | Lithuania | "for the monograph "Avian Malaria Parasites and Other Haemosporidia" and activities towards consolidation of links between parasitologists in the Baltic States and Scandinavian countries" |
| 2007 | Tarmo Soomere | Estonia | "for his cycle of researches on analyses of ship waves in the Baltic Sea as a source of danger to the coastal environment" |
| 2008 | Lembit Vaba | Estonia | "for researcher of the Baltic Sea language space, of the ancient Baltic loan words in Baltic-Finnish languages. He has compiled the English-Estonian-Latvian-Lithuanian-Russian Dictionary (2005), mapped the Estonian-Latvian language border and rediscovered Estonian language enclaves in southern regions of Latvia" |
| 2009 | Leonardas Sauka | Lithuania | "for his „Eglė Žalčių Karalienė” (en. Eglė, Queen of Adders), the fundamental study into the folklore heritage of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and other countries (Vol. 1-4, Vilnius: LLTI, 2007-2008). The study strengthens the Baltic identity and enhances pride in the traditions of all the Baltic nations" |
| 2010 | Jānis Stradiņš | Latvia | "for his book “The Beginnings of Science and Higher Education in Latvia” (2009)" |
| 2011 | Andres Ilmar Kasekamp | Estonia | "for his volume "History of the Baltic States" (2010)" |
| 2012 | Algis Petras Piskarskas | Lithuania | "for his pioneering research in the field of laser physics and nonlinear optics, for development of innovative laser instruments and fruitful international collaboration in European area and world-wide" |
| 2013 | Renāte Blumberga | Latvia | "for the research carried out using both archive materials and information gathered on expeditions on the topic of the history and cultural history of the Liv people, the second titular nationality of Latvia" |
| 2014 | Vidas Gražulevičius | Lithuania | "for his achievements in materials chemistry and engineering, for the active collaboration with the scientific partners from the Baltic States initiating and implementing research projects" |
| 2015 | Eva-Clarita Pettai and Vello Pettai | Estonia | "for their monograph “Transitional and Retrospective Justice in the Baltic States”" |
| 2016 | Maija Dambrova | Latvia | "for her scientific work on energy metabolism and her contribution to research of the mechanisms of action of the metabolic drug meldonium" |
| 2017 | Andres Metspalu | Estonia | "for his innovative, diverse and lasting contribution to gene technology and molecular diagnostic" |
| 2018 | Els Heinsalu | Estonia | "for her significant contribution in the theory of complex systems and stochastic processes" |
| 2019 | Jūras Banys | Lithuania | "for his outstanding contribution to research and innovations in ferroelectricity and phase transition as well as his devout leadership and professional scientific achievements" |
| 2020 | Roberts Eglītis | Latvia | "for work cycle: "Theoretical predictions of new materials for energy storage and harvesting" |
| 2021 | Virginijus Šikšnys | Lithuania | "for exceptional achievements in biomedical sciences – pioneering research in CRISPR-Cas9 Genome editing" |
| 2022 | Gustavs Strenga, Andris Levāns, Renāte Berga, and Laura Kreigere-Liepiņa | Latvia | "for the collective monograph "Rīgas jezuītu kolēģijas grāmatu krājuma (1583–1621) katalogs: Krājuma vēsture un rekonstrukcija", ("Catalogue of the Riga Jesuit College Book Collection (1583–1621): History and Reconstruction of the Collection") (2021) |
| 2023 | Arnolds Laimonis Klotiņš | Latvia | "for two monographs exploring Latvian music life and creativity during and after World War II" |