Slovenian actress Stefka Drolc and painter Zmago Jeraj won Preseren Prizes as the top national awards for lifetime achievements in the arts were presented at a high- profile annual ceremony in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana on Saturday evening, Xinhua reported.
Drolc, 85, was rewarded for her countless roles in the theater, film, radio and television, as well as for her work with students at the Ljubljana Academy of Theater, Radio, Film and Television, the Slovenian news agency STA reported.
Drolc, who is still active on stage, got a standing ovation as she climbed the stage in the Cankarjev dom arts center to accept her prize of 21,000 euros (about 26,870 U.S. dollars).
"I'm an actress, with all my being," she said, thanking all the theater people who have made her, as she put it.
Jeraj, 71, has established himself in nearly all fields of visual arts: painting, drawing, caricature, graphic arts, photography, theater set design and film.
Addressing the audience, Jeraj said that too much of Slovenian art was left hidden in studios, so he called on everyone to " accept paintings in your homes and sculptures in your gardens."
Presented annually on the eve of Feb. 8, which marks the date of France Preseren's death, the prizes named after Slovenia's greatest poet were initiated in 1946.
The Preseren Fund also presented six 7,000 euros Preseren Fund Prizes for individual achievements. These went to soprano Sabina Cvilak Damjanovic, composer Nenad First, actor Marko Mandic, sculptor Tobias Putrih, writer Goran Vojnovic and director Miran Zupanic.