The annual Young Painter’s Prize has been awarded for the fifteenth time. On Friday 10 November 2023, the Young Painter’s Prize art competition (YPP) has marked its fifteenth anniversary and held the award ceremony which was followed by the opening of the YPP finalists’ group show in the Museum of Applied Art and Design. This year, the main prize went to the Lithuanian artist Agata Orlovska . In his address to the participants of the competition, the YPP jury member Mr. Laurent Le Bon – art historian, the President..
This year – for the fifteenth time already – the Young Painter Prize (YPP) competition invites the young artists from around the Baltic States to showcase their work. This year, as last year, as an exception, young Ukrainian artists who currently reside in Lithuania, Latvia or Estonia can apply for the competition. Young artists from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine (residing in Baltic countries) are invited to apply to the competition..
.. / ReadYPP Announces This Year's Best Young Painter in the Baltic States. This year’s winner of the Young Painter Prize competition was announced in Vilnius Picture Gallery on 18 November. For fourteen years now, YPP is continuing to be one of the key events for the young artists from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and, exceptionally this year, Ukraine. The YPP’s international jury announced Linas Kaziulionis as this year’s best young painter in the Baltic states.
This year's winner of the Young Painter Prize competition was announced in MO Museum on 18 November. For thirteen years now, YPP is continuing to be one of the key events for the young artists from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The YPP's international jury announced Dominykas Sidorovas as this year's best young painter in the Baltic states.
The last stage of the YPP competition involved fifteen finalists whose works will be on display in MO Museum until 30 January, 2022. MO Museum also offered a special prize – the "MO Award" – which went to Kazimieras Brazdžiūnas. By the decision of the evaluation jury, a special mention was awarded Erika Povilonyte.
This Year's YPP Winner – Dominykas Sidorovas
This year's YPP winner Dominykas Sidorovas was awarded a two month residency in Nordic Artist Centre Dale (Norway) along with the 11,000 NOK monthly stipend. Dominykas also received a 3,000 EUR cash prize and the opportunity to hold a solo show in Pamėnkalnis Gallery (Vilnius). The YPP winner's painting will be added to the collection of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art.
"Each year, the YPP winner is decided only a few hours, sometimes minutes before the announcement. The participants, audience, organisers and the jury thus have to spend all this time in the state of suspenseful excitement. And we are indeed particularly excited about this year's winner Dominykas Sidorovas. The jury said about his artwork that “it’s a unique contemporary new visual language, it’s taking an image of an everyday objective like a chair and turning it into unfamiliar and striking visual representation.” We are happy that Dominykas artwork will now join the collection of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art and thus become part of the history of painting in the Baltic states," said the YPP organiser Julija Dailidėnaitė Palmeirao.
MO Museum offered the "MO Award" – a special cash prize of 1,000 EUR which went to Kazimieras Brazdžiūnas who won the sympathies of most of the MO founders and staff.
"All these young creatives and newly discovered talents are now part of the future generation of artists in the Baltic states. They all need to be noticed in order to find acces to wider audiences. This year we are extremely happy to host them in MO Museum where the visitors will be able to not only see their work but also learn about their aspirations," said the MO Museum Director Milda Ivanauskienė.
The list of this year's YPP finalists: Arnolds Andersons (LV), Gytis Arošius (LT), Kazimieras Brazdžiūnas (LT), Aurelija Bulaukaitė (LT), Siiri Jüris (EE), Madara Kvēpa (LV), Lisette Lepik (EE), Edvinas Mikulskis (LT), Erika Povilonytė (LT), Indrė Rybakovaitė (LT), Justīnė Seile-Urtāne (LV), Greta Šležaitė (LT), Dominykas Sidorovas (LT), Denisa Štefanigova (EE), and Mantas Valentukonis (LT).
An Opportunity to See the Work of the Youngest Artists
"One of the key benefits of the YPP competition is that the artists, viewers, curators and art critics get the unique opportunity to see the work of the youngest artists who will soon become major players in the art field of the Baltic states," said YPP organiser Vilmantas Marcinkevičius.
He also added that the reputation and continuity of YPP are all due to the active participation of artists from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
The YPP project is ongoing since 2009 and is now one of the key art events in the Baltic states. Its mission is not only the introduction of up-and-coming artists to wider audiences, but also helping art collectors and curators discover new talent in the Baltic states. The YPP competition is open to art students and graduates up to years old.
Artists Were Assessed by an International Jury
During this year's competition, young artists were assessed by an international jury: Arild H. Eriksen (art historian, Director of Residency Centre at the Nordic Artists' Centre Dale), Gabrielė Radzevičiūtė (curator, MO Museum), Karin Laansoo (Director of the Estonian KAI Art Centre), Deimantas Narkevičius (filmmaker, video artist, sculptor), Zane Tuča (Latvian painter, the YPP 2013 winner), and Mėta Valiušaitytė (art historian).
The YPP organisers: Julija Dailidėnaitė Palmeirao and Vilmantas Marcinkevičius.
The Patrons of Young Painter Prize: Mindaugas Raila, the family of Nicolas Ortiz and Bajorunas/Sarnoff Foundation, Dali Van Rooij Rakutyte, Lewben Art Foundation.
Coordinators: Gabrielė Radzevičiūtė and Ieva Stasevičiūtė; graphic designer: Akvilė Paukštytė; exhibition architect: Dominykas Šavelis.
During the opening night on the 18th of November, MO Museum held a public discussion "The New Generation of Painters: Quo vadis?".
The YPP 2009 winner Andrius Zakarauskas, the YPP organizer Julija Dailidėnaitė Palmeirao, and the Deputy Director of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art Jolanta Marcišauskytė-Jurašienė spoke about the emerging young artists and their creative pathways. The discussion was moderated by the art theorist Laima Kreivytė.
