20.09.2004
The "Golden Sceptre" for Sławomir Mrożek
Sławomir Mrożek - prose writer, playwright, and a draftsman become the winner of this year's "Golden Sceptre" award, granted by the Polish Culture Foundation and Bank Millennium. In the rationale behind its decision, the Jury - chaired by Beata Tyszkiewicz - stressed the perseverance of the artist in his efforts to study dark and bitter paradoxes of life with the intention to enrich the human condition.
The "Little Sceptre" award, given, according to the bylaws, independently by the prize-winner to a young artist of his/her favour, has been awarded to a draftsman Marek Raczkowski, famous for his drawings for ‘Przekrój'.
Sławomir Mrożek
The prize-giving ceremony in Stanisławowski Theatre in Warsaw Łazienki Królewskie was accompanied by a show "Mrożek's Golden Sceptre", written and directed by Bartosz Szydłowski, prepared especially for the occasion based on the Artist's artistically processed biography and on fragments of his most popular dramas. TVP participated in the project providing archive TV theatre shows of Mrożek, starring the parade of Poland's best actors.
The "Golden Sceptre" award was founded 6 years ago, and is given annually to outstanding Polish artists. The list of the awardees of the "Golden Sceptre" contains: Jerzy Giedroyć, Wojciech Kilar, Stanisław Lem, Roman Polański, and Ewa Podleś. Since the origins of the prize, both the "Golden Sceptre" (PLN 100,000) and the "Little Sceptre" awards (PLN 10,000) have been funded by Bank Millennium SA.
A special theatre show prepared for the prize giving ceremony - "Mrożek's Golden Sceptre" directed by Bartosz Szydłowski - enriched the "Pearls of Millennium" cycle - a joint project of Bank Millennium and Telewizja Polska SA.
For Bank Millennium its involvement in the founding and annual prize-giving of the ‘Golden Sceptre' award is a continuation of long years of contribution under the Bank's social mission to support high culture artistic events.
