This list of awards for contributions to culture is an index to articles about notable awards for contributions to culture in a general sense. The awards listed here have a relatively open-ended scope, e.g. they apply to the arts irrespective of category. Alternatively, they pertain to a culture-related field that is not covered by a more specific list, such as promotion of culture, conservation of cultural heritage, museums, etc. The list is organized by region and country of the award sponsor, but some awards are open to people or organizations around the world.
Country | Award | First awarded / established | Venue / sponsor | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Belgium/Netherlands (European Union) | European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards | 2002 | Europa Nostra | Best practice in heritage conservation. [1] |
Denmark | Crown Prince Couple's Awards | 2004 | Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark; Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark | Exceptional achievement in the arts and culture and in social work [2] |
Denmark | Sonning Prize | 1950 / 1959 | University of Copenhagen | Outstanding contributions to European culture [3] |
Faroe Islands | Faroese Cultural Prize | 1998 | Faroe government | Faroese writers, musicians, artists etc. [4] |
Germany | Herder Prize | 1964 | Alfred Toepfer Foundation | Scholars and artists from Central and Southeast Europe whose life and work have contributed to the cultural understanding of European countries and their peaceful interrelations.Discontinued and merged in 2007 to create the KAIROS Prize. |
Germany | KAIROS Prize | 2007 | Alfred Toepfer Foundation | European artists and scholars from the fields of visual and performing arts, music, architecture, design, film, photography, literature and journalism. [5] |
Germany | Maecenas-Ehrung | 1989 | Association of Independent Cultural Institutions | Personalities that have significantly promoted art and culture in Germany. [6] |
Jamaica | Prime Minister's Medal of Appreciation | 1983 | Prime Minister of Jamaica | Significant contribution to the economic, social, cultural or political development of Jamaica or to Jamaicans residing abroad [7] |
Japan | Nikkei Asia Prize | 1996 | The Nikkei | People in Asia who have made significant contributions in regional growth; science, technology and innovation; or culture [8] |
Nepal | Danyahira Sirpa | 2004 | Nepal Bhasa Academy | Outstanding contributions or achievements in the field of Newari literature or music [9] |
Netherlands | Erasmus Prize | 1958 | Praemium Erasmianum Foundation | Individuals or institutions that have made exceptional contributions to culture, society, or social science in Europe and the rest of the world [10] |
North Korea | People's Prize | 1958 | People's Prize Awarding Commission | Achievements in arts and sciences [11] |
United Kingdom (Council of Europe) | European Museum of the Year Award | 1977 | European Museum Forum | Unique atmosphere, imaginative interpretation and presentation, a creative approach to education and social responsibility [12] |
United Kingdom | Museum of the Year | 1973 | Art Fund | Museum or gallery in the United Kingdom for a track record of imagination, innovation and excellence [13] |
United States | Handel Medallion | 1959 | Government of New York City | Individuals for their contribution to the city's intellectual and cultural life. [14] |
United States | Heinz Awards | 1993 | Heinz Foundations | Contributions in Arts and Humanities; Environment; Human Condition; Public Policy; and Technology, the Economy and Employment [15] |
United States | Howland Memorial Prize | 1916 | Yale University | Achievement of marked distinction in the field of literature or fine arts or the science of government [16] |
United States | Library of Congress Living Legend | 2000 | Library of Congress | Creative contributions to American life [17] Retired in 2018. |
United States | St. Louis Walk of Fame | 1989 | Joe Edwards | Notable people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to the culture of the United States [18] |
Erasmus (1466–1536) was a Dutch humanist scholar.
Álvaro Joaquim de Melo Siza Vieira is a Portuguese architect, and architectural educator. He is internationally known as Álvaro Siza and in Portugal as Siza Vieira.
The Order of Culture is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipients of the order also receive an annuity for life. The order is conferred by the Emperor of Japan in person on Culture Day each year. It is considered equivalent to the highest rank of the Order of the Rising Sun, the Order of the Sacred Treasure, and the Order of the Precious Crown. The only orders that Japanese emperors bestow on recipients by their own hands are the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, the Grand Cordon of each order, and the Order of Culture.
The Erasmus Prize is an annual prize awarded by the board of the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation to individuals or institutions that have made exceptional contributions to culture, society, or social science in Europe and the rest of the world. It is one of Europe's most distinguished recognitions. The prize is named after Desiderius Erasmus, the Dutch Renaissance humanist.
The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation is a Dutch cultural institution that works in the humanities, the social science and the arts. It was founded in 1958 by Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. The aim of the Foundation is to strengthen the position of the arts, the social sciences and the humanities. The Foundation is motivated by the ideas of Desiderius Erasmus, from whom it derives its name, and European cultural traditions. Humanistic values, such as tolerance, cultural pluralism and critical thinking, are reflected in the choice of the Erasmus Prize laureates and in the activities around the theme of the Prize.
The Museum of the Year Award, formerly known as the Gulbenkian Prize and the Art Fund Prize, is an annual prize awarded to a museum or gallery in the United Kingdom for a "track record of imagination, innovation and excellence". The award of £100,000 is Britain's biggest single art prize, and the largest single museum arts prize in the world. The prize and is presented to a museum or gallery, large or small, anywhere in the UK, whose entry, in the opinion of the judges, best demonstrates a track record of imagination, innovation and excellence through work mainly undertaken during the previous calendar year.
Paul Delouvrier was a French administrator and economist. He was awarded the Erasmus Prize in 1985, a year when the theme for the award was Urban Development.
Jacques Ledoux was a Belgian cinema specialist, the first curator of the Royal Film Archive of Belgium from 1948 to 1988 and the founder of the Cinema Museum in Brussels in 1962.
The Praemium Imperiale is an international art prize inaugurated in 1988 and awarded since 1989 by the Imperial family of Japan on behalf of the Japan Art Association in the fields of painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and theatre/film.
Péter Forgács is a Hungarian media artist and independent filmmaker. He is best known for his "Private Hungary" series of award winning films based on home movies from the 1930s and 1960s, which document ordinary lives that were soon to be ruptured by an extraordinary historical trauma that occurs off screen.
The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.
The Heinz Awards are individual achievement honors given annually by the Heinz Family Foundation. The Heinz Awards each year recognize outstanding individuals for their innovative contributions in three areas: the Arts, the Economy and the Environment. The award was established in 1993 by Teresa Heinz, the chairwoman of the Heinz Family Foundation, in honor of her late husband, U.S. Senator H. John Heinz III. The Heinz Award is considered to be among the largest individual achievement prizes in the world.
The EMET Prize for Art, Science and Culture is an Israeli prize awarded annually for excellence in academic and professional achievements that have far-reaching influence and make a significant contribution to society. Prizes are awarded in the following five categories: the Exact Sciences, Life Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Culture and the Arts.
Uğur Ümit Üngör is a Dutch–Turkish academic, historian, sociologist, and professor of Genocide studies, specializing as a scholar and researcher of Holocaust studies and studies on mass violence. He served as Professor of History at the Utrecht University and Professor of Sociology at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
The Islamic Museum of Australia (IMA) is a community museum in Thornbury, Melbourne, Australia. It began as a not-for-profit foundation founded in May 2010 with the purpose of establishing the first Islamic museum in Australia. It aims to showcase the artistic heritage and historical contributions of Muslims in Australia and abroad through the display of artworks and historical artefacts.
Frie Leysen was a Belgian festival director. She was director of the art centre deSingel, Antwerp, from 1980 until 1991. In 1994, she co-founded the Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels.
Marie-Cécile Zinsou is a French-Beninese art historian and entrepreneur, She is president of the Fondation Zinsou, founded in 2005 in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, West Africa, which promotes contemporary art in Africa and leads cultural, educational and social initiatives. In 2014 she opened the first museum of contemporary art in Benin.
The museum wins £100,000, the biggest museum prize in the world and the largest arts award in the UK.