Andrzej Wajda Awards
The Andrzej Wajda Awards ceremony was combined with the inauguration of the year dedicated to the famous artist. The Management Board and Council of the Andrzej Wajda and Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda Kyoto-Krakow Foundation, which constitutes the award committee, honoured Danuta Wałęsa and Andrzej Poczobut with this distinction.
The Andrzej Wajda Award was established in 2016. It is awarded for outstanding activity in the spirit of social solidarity, for attitudes which, like the life and work of its patron, combine artistic sensitivity, moral courage and concern for the community. The award symbolically connects the world of art, civil society and the ethos of freedom. In 2026, it was presented for the ninth time.
The Year of Andrzej Wajda
On the 100th anniversary of his birth and the 10th anniversary of his death, the Senate declared 2026 the Year of Andrzej Wajda – one of the most outstanding figures in Polish and world cinema, winner of an Oscar and other major film awards in Cannes, Venice and Berlin. The artist had strong ties to Krakow, actively contributing to its cultural life and being a frequent guest and close friend of the ICC. From the very beginning of our institution’s existence, i.e. since 1991, he sat on the Programme Council, serving in this capacity continuously until his death in 2016. He was actively involved in numerous projects carried out by our institution. The inauguration of the Year of Andrzej Wajda and the presentation of the awards named after him took place on the eve of the opening of the exhibition “Wajda. On the Centenary of His Birth” at the Manggha Museum in Krakow. Marta Cienkowska, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, also took part in the event.
photo: Danyil Tiurin/ courtesy of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage