On Wednesday, 12 June 2024, at the Rog Centre, we presented the Župančič Awards, the highest recognitions of the City of Ljubljana for outstanding creations in the field of art and culture.

The Župančič Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024 went to composer Aldo Kumar

Aldo Kumar is undoubtedly one of the most popular and performed contemporary Slovenian composers today, whose oeuvre represents a key part of contemporary music literature. He extended his musical creativity into many fields, from film and theatre to a wide variety of compositions for Slovenian literary artists and concerts of vocal, vocal-instrumental and instrumental music. His oeuvre includes symphonic works, cantatas, solos, chamber works, original music for theatre performances and films, and multimedia projects.

The Župančič Two-Year Creativity Awards (2022-2024) were presented to:

Tjaša Črnigoj, theatre director
Theatre director, philosopher and literary comparativist Tjaša Črnigoj works both on the institutional and independent scene. As a director, author of texts, dramaturgy associate, performer, mentor, directing and dramaturgy assistant, she has been an important contributor to the theatre landscape in Ljubljana and beyond.

Anja Novak, actress and poet
Theatre and film actress, poet, storyteller, performer and singer Anja Novak graduated from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television with a Master's degree in drama in 2015 and took a job at the Mladinsko Theatre the same year. For a decade, she has worked in many different fields, both in institutional and independent contexts.

Urša Vidic, visual artist and scenographer
Visual artist and scenographer Urša Vidic completed her Master's degree in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design. During her studies, she participated in a study exchange at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Soon after entering the professional world, she began to exhibit, both solo and collectively, mainly in tandem with the artist Meta Grgurevič. After 2010, she first worked as an assistant to Branko Hojnik and then independently entered the world of theatre set design. Her body of work includes over 60 set designs, with which she has co-created many acclaimed productions. She is an indispensable collaborator at the three main theatres in Ljubljana – the Slovenian National Theatre Drama Ljubljana, the Ljubljana City Theatre and the Mladinsko Theatre – as well as the Slovene National Theatre Nova Gorica, smaller theatre institutions and as an actor on the independent scene.