The 2022 culture awards were conferred in a festivity at the National Museum of Arts of Moldova. Thirty-four persons who create and promote culture were awarded in 14 nominations, IPN reports.

Prime Minister Dorin Recean said culture helps to build social resilience before threats and negative influences from outside. “We must continue to create, to promote our culture.  We should all work together so as to have rich culture that would create a favorable social environment for our society to grow further,” stated the official.

Minister of Culture Sergiu Prodan said the investment in culture is an investment in the future and it has a big effect. The awards represent appreciation of the efforts made by the people of culture to promote the Romanian cultural space. “When I speak about the Romanian cultural space, I every time say that when we also reach Europe, we will only make the image of the Romanian culture in the European Union whole. The image of this culture is extremely rich, multiethnic, multicultural,” stated Sergiu Prodan.

The Romanian Minister of Culture Lucian Romașcanu said that culture without money does not work actually and the authorities should always find a place in the budget for this sector. “I call not only on the Prime Minister of the republic, but also on the local authorities and those who in private activity can earn more from culture as we cannot go on to reach the desired level without these three pillars,” noted the Romanian official.

The Ministry of Culture’s awards for creations and artistic innovations with a significant impact on the national and international cultural heritage include the awards “Valeriu Cupcea”, “Constantin Stere”, “Gavriil Muzicescu”, “Ştefan Ciobanu”, “Ion Madan”, “Isidor Burdin”, Mihai Grecu”, “Gheorghe Cincilei”,  “Emil Loteanu”, “Veniamin Apostol”, and “Valentina Rusu-Ciobanu”. Among the awardees this year are Elena Frunze-Hatman, director of “Alexei Mateevici” Theater, poet and writer Radmila Popovici, the band “Zdob și Zdub”, doctor of history Andrei Prohin and plastic artist Andrei Negură.

Peoples’ artist Nicolae Botgros received the award for his whole work, while the special award for extraordinary contribution to the national culture went to folk music singer Grigore Leșe and pan flute musician Gheorghe Zamfir.