Embassy Events

Oskar Čepán Prize Recognizes Best Young Slovak Artist with New York Residency, Cash Award

Janeil Engelstad, Anna Daučíková, Ed Kemp. Photo: Annie Kennington.

Public Affairs Officer Ed Kemp on June 25 presented prizes to finalists and the winner at the fourteenth annual Oskar Čepán Award Ceremony in Bratislava, which recognizes young and emerging Slovak visual artists. The winner is awarded a six-week residency in New York and a solo exhibition based on his or her experiences there. Organizers of the annual prize are the Foundation - Center for Contemporary Arts and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. This year’s winner is András Cséfalvay, whose video productions deal with the themes of mythology and history in a broad cultural context. During his speech at the ceremony, Mr. Kemp recognized the quality of art education and production in Slovakia, commending the, “young and not so young artists constantly experimenting, pushing boundaries, opening up fresh dimensions of their art,” and who “make maximum use of minimum resources.” The Embassy has been involved in the ceremony since its inception, and continues to support visual arts throughout Slovakia. It has shown other concrete support for artists:10 Fulbright Commission awards for graduate study, research and teaching in the visual arts, in both U.S. and Slovakia, have been awarded since 2006.