Annual Animated Heritage Award launched

The Academic Board of the Institute of Art Studies at its meeting held on 28 October 2016 (record No 9, para. 19), launched an annual Animated Heritage Award for contribution to the creative interpretation of the traditions and values of Bulgarian and world cultural heritage in a contemporary artwork.

Prize Terms and Conditions
The annual award for outstanding contribution to the creative interpretation of the traditions and values of Bulgarian and world cultural heritage in a contemporary artwork
Animated Heritage Award
Presented by the Institute of Art Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences has been launched by a decision of the Academic Council of the Institute of Art Studies, minutes No. 9 (19) of 28 October 2016.

I. Goals of the award

Article 1 (1) The Animated Heritage Award е is a moral incentive intended to encourage ingenious works in the fields of arts and culture in the context of the world and Bulgaria’s cultural and historical heritage. It is meant to promote authentic representation of the culture and the history of the past through using ideas, motifs and subject matters of the world civilizations, capable to pique the young generations’ interest in the traditional and aesthetical values of Bulgaria, Europe and the Christendom. The Animated Heritage Award is granted for contribution toward shaping national and European identity of an as broad range of art recipients as possible.
(2) The Animated Heritage Award is a figurine, a replica of small statuary of idol worshiping of the 5th mill. BC, unearthed during excavation works at the village of Hotnitsa. Courtesy of Veliko Turnovo Regional History Museum.
(3) The Animated Heritage Award, apart from the abovementioned figurine, includes a Honourable Mention, signed by the Director of the Institute of Art Studies.
(4) There is no cash alternative to the Animated Heritage prize.
II. Entry to the Award is open to:
Article 2. (1) Both individuals and/or creative teams shall be eligible entrants to the competition for the Animated Heritage Award.
(2) Nominators of artworks, artists and creative groups for the Animated Heritage Award shall be only researchers at the Institute of Art Studies with the nominations placed within the calendar year of the presentation of the award.
(3) All entries have to be submitted containing therein as follows:
– Motivation of up to 2 pages (a standard page contains 1,800 characters with spaces);
– CVs of the entrants, either individual authors or the members of a team;
– e-presentations of the artworks.
(4) The complete set of submission materials is considered as follows:
– At a meeting of the respective Department of the Institute of Art Studies and following a consensus decision the nomination is proposed to the Academic Council with the submission materials listed above enclosed therein;
– At a meeting of the Academic Council of the Institute of Art Studies, where votes shall be cast through a secret ballot and the winner is deemed to be the entrant(s) that has received half of the total plus one by the members of the Academic Council.
(5) Current and former members of staff of the Institute of Art Studies shall be ineligible for a nomination for the Animated Heritage Award.
(6) Current and former members of staff of the Institute of Art Studies as well as members of their families shall be ineligible for a nomination for Lifetime Achievement Animated Heritage Award.
(7) Foreign nationals and/or creative teams shall be only eligible for a nomination for the Animated Heritage Award when their works are participating in events and exhibitions held within the Republic of Bulgaria.
III. Categories
Article 3. (1) The Animated Heritage Award for outstanding contribution to the creative interpretation of the traditions and values of Bulgarian and world cultural heritage in a contemporary artwork shall be granted to an artist, residing and working in Bulgaria or abroad or to a creative team from Bulgaria or from a foreign country.
(2) The Animated Heritage Award shall be granted both to an individual work or a series/cycle of works as well as for lifetime achievement.
Article 4. The Animated Heritage Award shall be only one and shall be granted annually in the categories as follows:
– Fine arts
For statuaries; paintings, prints; restoration and conservation of artefacts; pictorial photography;
– Music
For music pieces; performing arts; dancing art;
– Theatre
For dramatic; musical; puppetry;
– Film
For feature; documentary; animated; TV;
– Architecture
For construction of buildings; aestheticisation of urban environment; authentic architectural restoration, etc.
Article 5. The Animated Heritage Award shall not be granted for achievements in arts and liberal arts in such areas as literature, journalism, etc., where the Institute of Art Studies has no nominal competence.
Article 6. Scholarly interpretations of the cultural and historical heritage, i.e. a study or a monograph or a research project shall be ineligible for the Animated Heritage Award.
IV. Selection process
Article 7, (1) The Animated Heritage Award shall be granted annually on a competitive basis in the same year of its presentation;
(2) Submissions of entry made by other organisations, culture institutions, unions of artists, etc., shall be ineligible for the Animated Heritage Award;
(3) The entrants themselves shall be ineligible to apply for the Animated Heritage Award;
(4) Artists and/or creative teams winners of the Animated Heritage Award shall be ineligible to either apply or win the award for the second time;
(5) The Animated Heritage Award shall not be conferred posthumously;
(6) The award shall not be granted in instances when there are no nominations and/or groundbreaking achievements in the fields listed above;
(7) It is highly recommended that the annual award is granted in rotation, where possible, i.e. artworks of various art genres, rather of the same genre, to be awarded in two successive years.
V. Jury
Article 8. (1) A jury shall be formed as a panel of experts from the Departments and the Academic Council of the Institute of Art Studies (the cases as laid out in Article 8 (5) of these Terms and Conditions excepted);
(2) The members of the Academic Council shall consider the nominations taking into account the submission materials offered by the respective Department, as set out in Article 2 (3) of these Terms and Conditions, and shall be entitled to reject nominations;
(3) The winner of the Animated Heritage Award is singled out at a regular meeting of the Academic Council, presided over either by the Chairperson or by the Deputy Chairperson of the Academic Council, pursuant to Article 2 (4) of these Terms and Conditions;
4) If two entrants have received the same number of votes by the Academic Council or the votes garnered by both entrants are not received half of the total plus one, up to three secret votes shall be held. If a winner is not singled out after the third vote the winner shall be the entrant winning the most votes;
(5) If no nominations have been submitted by the Institute’s departments and/or provided that no entry is judged worthy of the award by the required majority decision of the Academic Council, the Chairperson of the Academic Council or of the Institute’s management assign to a researcher at the Institute, member of a jury panel at an international/national festival to present the award to an entrant or a team competing at the same event at his/her discretion;
(6) The decision made by the Academic Council and/or a representative of the Institute of Art Studies having duly delegated powers pursuant to Article 8 (5) pertaining to a nomination is not subject to review.
VI. Announcement of the winning nomination
Article 9. (1) The Animated Heritage Award is presented by the Director of the Institute of Art Studies or his representative (Deputy Director, Chairperson of the Academic Council, Chairperson of the General Meeting of Researchers, etc.) at an awards ceremony held at the Institute of Art Studies or elsewhere depending on the genre or the event (a festival, a competition, etc.), where the work and/or the artists are being presented;
(2) In instances in which the awards ceremony is held on the premises of the Institute of Art Studies, the winner(s) shall be notified by the Institute’s Administration Department of the date and the venue of the prize-giving ceremony.
Academic Council Chair:
Prof. Nikolay Yordanov, DSc