Shevchenko National Prize was awarded in Borodyanka

An awarding ceremony for the 2022 and 2023 Taras Shevchenko National Prize took place in the town of Borodyanka, Kyiv region.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, signed a decree on awarding Taras Shevchenko National Prize at the end of July 2023.

The place was not chosen by chance. People of Borodyanka survived dramatic events, including numerous war crimes and destruction. The ceremony took place in the central square of Borodyanka near the monument to Taras Shevchenko which was shelled during the Russian occupation.

“There are, of course, certain places where awarding ceremonies have always been held before, such as Kaniv Mountain or the Shevchenko Museum but due to security measures we decided to arrange the ceremony here, in Borodyanka. Last year, at the end of March, when I saw a house after the shelling and a shot up monument to Taras Shevchenko, which still stood firm, I realized it was a symbol of resistance to rascism,” said Yevhen Nyshchuk, the head of the Shevchenko National Prize Committee.

In 2023 the prize was awarded to:

• Kateryna Kalytko, a poet, for her poetry book “The Order of the Silent”. 

Kateryna Kalytko has published nine collections of poetry and books of short stories. She has received many literary awards, among them the Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski Literary Prize, BBC Book of the year and Women in Arts Award from UN Women. “Striking imagery emerges in her recent poetry like puzzle pieces that create a violent and shocking picture of war, conveying the loss and pain that is experienced during a search for safety and identity amidst the war,” — says PEN America.

Kateryna Kalytko is published by The Old Lion Publishing House and Meridian Czernowitz. 

Translates from Balkan languages. For her translations, she was awarded the prize of the Kryvbasu Courier magazine and the METAPHORA translation prize.

• Taras Kompanichenko, Maksym Berezhnyuk, Severyn Danyleyko, Yaroslav Krysko, Serhii Okhrimchuk, singers of the Chorea Kozacka band for their audio album “Songs of the Ukrainian Revolution”.

Chorea Kozacka is an ancient music band based in Kyiv. They perform music of Rus-Ukraine from different epochs.

• Mykhailo Nazarenko, Ukrainian literary scholar and critic, science fiction author, for his book “Not only Kobzar”. Anthology of Ukrainian literature, 1792 — 1883” in two parts.

Nazarenko is an editor of books by  Neil Gaiman, Susanna Clarke, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Alan Moore and many others. Member of Union of Journalists of Ukraine.

• Vitalii Portnikov, Ukrainian author and journalist, for his articles and speeches for the past couple of years. 

Radio Svoboda/Radio Liberty reviewer, author of numerous political articles in different media. Member of PEN Ukraine.

• Tsilyk Iryna, Ukrainian filmmaker, for her documentary “The Earth Is Blue as an Orange.”

Iryna Tsilyk is an author of prose, poetry, and books for children, member of PEN Ukraine and European Film Academy, participates in numerous literary festivals and cultural events. Her works have been translated into German, Polish, English, French, Greek, Italian and other languages. Her film “The Earth Is Blue as An Orange” won the Sundance Directing Award for World Cinema Documentary in 2020.

Iryna Tsilyk, Ukrainian filmmaker and writer, and also one of the laureates, wrote about the event, which occurred on Aug. 20,  on her Facebook page.

“The monument to Ukrainian poet and artist Taras Shevchenko, next to which Shevchenko National Prize laureates were awarded today, made a great impression on me. It was the first time that I saw it so close, and its power struck me, and it is hard to find the right words. Injured but invincible; his gaze is directed not in front of him but down — right into the eye of every one of us (the photo, unfortunately, doesn’t show anything). I had goosebumps from this gaze, to be honest.”

In 2022 the prize was awarded to:

• Tamara Duda, writer, for her novel “Daughter”
• George G. Grabowicz, literary scholar, U.S. citizen, for a collection of articles “Reinterpreting Pavlo Tychyna — reinterpreting Ukrainian modernism”
• Mykola Riabchuk, writer, for his book “A Nationalist’s Lexicon and Other Essays”
• Tamara Trunova, director, Natali Vorozhbyt, an author of the play, Yurii Lariuonov, stage designer, Andriy Isaenko and Valeria Khodos, actors, for the play “Bad Roads” staged by the Kyiv State Drama and Comedy Theater on the Left Bank
• Kateryna Hornostai, director, for full-length play movie “STOP EARTH”
• Tiberii Silvashi, an artist, for his “Wings” installation
• Mykyta Kadan, an artist, for his solo exhibition “Stone Hits Stone”

RELATED: See Tiberii Silvashi’s artworks in Treasures of Ukraine by Thames and Hudson 

The Taras Shevchenko National Prize was founded in 1961. It is the highest award for a significant contribution to the development of culture and art in Ukraine. Not more than seven National Prizes can be awarded every year, a person can be awarded once in their lifetime. The award is conferred by the President of Ukraine based on the decision of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize Committee.

Borodyanka is a town located near Bucha, Kyiv oblast. It was the main way of the Russian advance to Kyiv. More than 400 people were murdered; they were found in the streets and under the ruins of their houses. At the beginning of March Russians occupied Borodyanka, killed locals, and didn’t allow anyone to clear the debris. After the liberation of the town, people started going back to repair and renovate their houses, build their lives from the scratch.