This year’s Baltic Assembly Prize for the Arts was awarded to Estonian jewellery and video artist Darja Popolitova.
Jewellery artist Darja Popolitova (born 1989 in Sillamäe, Estonia) is an artist, and a lecturer and doctoral researcher at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Her artistic practice lies at the intersection of modern art, video art and jewellery art, where she combines pseudo-magical narratives with digital technologies to create ironic and sensory commentaries on today’s life.
Her works have been exhibited internationally, including at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the MO Museum in Vilnius, the Museum Arnhem in the Netherlands, and the London Design Festival. Popolitova has received several important cultural awards in Estonia, and her works are included in the collections of museums both in Estonia and abroad. In addition to her artistic work, she participates in curatorial projects and cultural initiatives, including the founding of the East-Viru Artists’ Club in 2024.
The 2026 Baltic Assembly Prize for Literature was awarded to poet Kārlis Vērdiņš and translator Valts Ernštreits for the collection of poems “Lībiešu balādes/Līvõd balādõd”, or “The Livonian Ballads”. The Baltic Assembly Prize for Science was awarded to Lithuanian researcher in the field of comparative historical sociology Dr Zenonas Norkus for his two research monographs on post-communist transformation.
The Baltic Assembly Prize consists of a monetary prize, a certificate, and a statuette, which are presented every year at the Baltic Assembly Session. This year, the Prize Awarding Ceremony will take place during the 45th Session of the Baltic Assembly, on 22 October in Tallinn, Estonia.
The members of the Joint Jury of the BA Prizes were artists and experts from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia: Ingrid Velbaum-Staub, Siim Preiman, Hent Kalmo, Donata Mitaitė, Ramutė Rachlevičiūtė, Valdemaras Razumas, Elīna Līce, Dace Bluķe and Maija Kūle.
The Baltic Assembly has been awarding the Prizes in literature, the arts, and science since 1994. The aim of the prizes is to recognise significant achievements and promote the development of these fields in the Baltic States.