Excellence Award 2018

On November 28, during a solemn awards ceremony at the Latvian Academy of Music, the 2018 Excellence Awards in Culture were announced. Among the recipients was the Latvian National Museum of Art.

The Excellence Award was granted to the Latvian National Museum of Art for initiating and, together with museums from Estonia and Lithuania, organizing the exhibition Wild Souls. Symbolism in the Baltic States at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the cultural capital of Europe, during Latvia's centenary celebrations.

The exhibition was inaugurated by the President of France Emmanuel Macron, in the presence of the presidents of all the Baltic States. The exhibition was designed to introduce audiences to Baltic visual arts, created at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, up until the achievement of state independence in 1918. The main idea of the project was to reveal to Western Europe that the art of the emerging Baltic States was of a professionally high level, and its unique features were part of the broader European art landscape.

During the exhibition, a wide cultural program was also offered to visitors, encouraging exploration of not only visual arts but also other expressions of national identity in the Baltic States. The exhibition attracted over 236,000 visitors from around the world, making it the most ambitious joint project of the Baltic States' centenary celebrations and one of the largest events of Latvia's centenary abroad.

The Excellence Award in Culture was established in 2014 following the call of the Minister of Culture Dace Melbārde, the initiative of the Latvian Council of Creative Unions, and with the support of the National Cultural Council. The award aims to express the Latvian state's recognition for outstanding international achievements in culture that have significantly contributed to promoting Latvian cultural values, fostering a positive image of Latvia, raising the country's prestige globally, and reinforcing cultural values within Latvian society.