Luxembourg's Ministry of Culture has just awarded one individual and two cultural associations the COVID 2020 Artistic Innovation Award.

The winner of the COVID 2020 Artistic Innovation Award for an artist / artist collective, endowed with €5,000, is Nora Wagner for her exhibition "jamais peut-être" (never maybe).

Two winners will share the COVID 2020 Artistic Innovation Award for a cultural structure / association, endowed with €9,000: the Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and the Kinneksbond cultural centre in Mamer for their collaborations and their artistic programme in the context of a health crisis (€4,500); and the non-profit association Grand H for its "Window Loving" project (€4,500).

The COVID 2020 Artistic Innovation Award aims to reward an initiative of an innovative project carried out within the framework of the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, between 15 March and 15 December 2020 by a professional artist or collective of artists or by a cultural structure or association in Luxembourg.

With this prize, the Ministry of Culture aims to honour the resilience and creativity of a cultural sector severely affected by the restrictions and repeated closures, as highlighted by Minister Sam Tanson: “With this prize, we wish to showcase not only the fantastic work of the winners, but that of an entire industry. The last few months have certainly exposed the vulnerability of the cultural sector in the face of a health crisis, but they have nonetheless highlighted the solidarity and the incredible energy with which new means of creation have been developed”.

A preselection committee, made up of agents from the Ministry of Culture submitted several proposals to the jury, made up of Olivier Frank (director of Institut Pierre Werner), Simone Molitor (cultural journalist, Lëtzebuerger Journal) and Marc Thill (cultural journalist, Luxemburger Wort). The jury evaluated the proposals on the basis of criteria of quality and relevance, professionalism, impact and outreach, the partnership approach, as well as the audience and the type of audience reached.