ESTONIA
Science
Ülo Niinemets is Professor of Environmental and Agricultural Plant Biology and Head of the Department at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, and a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. He is internationally recognised for his pioneering research on plant responses to environmental stress and their role in the Earth’s climate system. His work bridges plant physiology, ecology, and global climate science, contributing to a deeper understanding of vegetation dynamics under changing environmental conditions.
DETALIZĒTS CV PIEEJAMS IGAUNIJAS ZINĀTNISKAJĀ DATUBĀZĒ ETIS
ÜLO NIINEMETS
NOMINATOR:
Igaunijas zinātņu asociācija /
Estonian Association of Sciences
MARIS LAAN
NOMINATOR:
Igaunijas zinātņu asociācija /
Estonian Association of Sciences
Maris Laan is Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Tartu (Estonia), Head of the Chair at the Faculty of Medicine, and since 2024 serves as Vice Dean for Research. She is an elected member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences (since 2021).
Her research has had a major impact on human genetics and reproductive medicine, particularly in understanding the genetic causes of infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss, and reproductive health.
ANNE KAHRU
NOMINATOR:
Igaunijas zinātņu asociācija /
Estonian Association of Sciences
Anne Kahru is the research professor of National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, (NICPB) where she leads the Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology.
She is a fellow of the Estonian Academy of Sciences (Ecotoxicology; 2018). Since 2025 she is the Secretary-General of the Academy.
LATVIA
Architecture
MADE ARHITEKTI
MADE arhitekti is an architecture practice founded in Latvia that consistently implements the principles of socially responsible and sustainable architecture. The office was established in 2007, and its leading architects are Miķelis Putrāms and Linda Krūmiņa. Alongside their professional practice, the office’s representatives are actively engaged in academia— they lecture at European universities and participate in international architecture forums, contributing to discussions on sustainable development and contemporary architecture.
The work of the office is characterized by a contextual approach, a careful attitude towards the environment and local identity, as well as the use of sustainable building materials and principles. MADE arhitekti place particular emphasis on the quality of public space and public engagement in architectural processes.
NOMINATOR:
Lietuvas blakustiesību asociācija AGATA/
Lithuanian Neighbouring Rights Association AGATA
LAUDER ARCHITECTS
NOMINATOR:
Latvijas Arhitektu savienība /
The Latvian Association of Architects
Lauder Architects was established in 2013 by architects Rita Laudere and Kārlis Lauders, formerly operating under the name “Lauders Architecture.” Following the company’s rapid development, it adopted its current name, “Lauder Architects,” in 2016. Both founders gained extensive experience working in leading architecture and interior design offices in Latvia. Since its establishment, the architectural practice has organically grown into a strong team of 14 professionals, including architects, designers, and engineers, working on projects ranging from small-scale to large-scale public and private architecture and interior design. The architectural practice is open to challenges and continuously seeks new approaches and solutions to each project. The practice’s core principles include:
• Respect for the surrounding environment, context, and scale;
• A rational approach to design, with careful consideration of sustainability;
• Collaboration with partners and specialists to form dedicated, goal-oriented teams for each project. In recent years, the practice has received recognition in architectural competitions for projects that demonstrate strong contextual integration, rational planning and structure, and full compliance with project requirements.
ĒTER
NOMINATOR:
Latvijas Arhitektu savienība /
The Latvian Association of Architects
ĒTER, an architectural practice founded in 2018, is a partnership of Kārlis Bērziņš, Dagnija Smilga and Niklāvs Paegle – architects and educators operating between Alps and Baltic coastline. Based in Zürich, Rīga and Vienna. ĒTER positions itself as not just an architectural practice but something broader, interested in exploring contemporary culture, offering experiential spaces, architectural solutions, urban strategy, and theoretical work. They often create their own briefs inspired by contemporary art, fashion, popular culture, nature and geopolitics. ĒTER have won several public building projects - daycare centre, expo pavilion, kindergarten, sports arena. The daycare centre Perle - a pilot project with the aim of helping people with mental and functional challenges to integrate into society opened its doors in 2021. In 2022, project was awarded the Latvian Architecture Awards (LAGB) Grand Prix. Currently the practice is working on an innovative housing.
LITHUANIA
MUSIC
EDGARAS MONTVIDAS, TENORS
NOMINATOR:
Lietuvas blakustiesību asociācija AGATA/
Lithuanian Neighbouring Rights Association AGATA
Lithuanian tenor Edgaras Montvidas, whom Le Figaro exclaimed “’is’ Werther, as soon as he makes his entrance, both physically and vocally. The amber colour of his voice is immediately appealing, with a melancholy hue that attaches itself to the character, in both the power and the nuance” was educated in Vilnius before joining the Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In the 2025/26 season, Edgaras Montvidas will sing Andres in Wozzeck in concert with Sir Simon Rattle and the Bayerische Rundfunks Orchester, perform Laca in Jenůfa with Opéra de Montreal, Count Vaudémont in Iolanta with Finnish National Opera and Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly with Opéra de Toulon. In concert, he returns to Vilnius, first as the headliner of the 50th Birthday Concert at the Lithuanian National Opera house in Vilnius, and later, as the title role in Lohengrin with the Lithuanian State Symphony, as well as a role debut as Cavarodossi in Tosca with the Pažaislis Music Festival.
Official web page EDGARASMONTVIDAS
Youtube EDGARAS MONTVIDAS
ASMIK GRIGORIAN, SOPRĀNS
“One of the fiercest dramatic talents in the field” (The New York Times), Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian’s “versatility is astounding” (The Times) with a “wild voice [that is] rich and dark” (Le Monde).
Regularly engaged at the world’s leading opera houses, she has recently performed at the Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro Real Madrid, the Salzburger Festspiele, and Teatro alla Scala. She was a founding member of Vilnius City Opera, has twice been awarded the Golden Stage Cross (the highest award for singers in Lithuania), was named Best Female Lead in 2019 at the Austrian Music Theater Awards, Female Opera Singer of the Year in 2022 by the Ópera XXI Association, and Female Singer of the Year at the Opus Klassik Awards in 2023. In 2024, she received the prestigious Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis in the "Special Jury Prize" category, an award celebrating exceptional contributions to Austria's opera and theater scene, and was named Opernwelt’s Opera Singer of the Year.
Video
NORMA, BELLINI
DON CARLO, VERDI
Official web page ASMIK GRIGORIAN
NOMINATOR:
Lietuvas blakustiesību asociācija AGATA/
Lithuanian Neighbouring Rights Association AGATA
MODESTAS PITRĖNAS, DIRIĢENTS
NOMINATOR:
One of the leading Lithuanian conductors, Modestas Pitrėnas has served as the principal conductor and artistic director of the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) since 2015. His interpretations of symphonic and operatic repertoire are highly regarded both in Lithuania and internationally. Since 2018, he has also held the position of principal conductor of the St. Gallen Opera Theatre and symphony orchestra (Switzerland). Previously, he served as principal conductor of the Latvian National Opera (2009–2014) and the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra (2006–2011), and has been a regular conductor at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. In December 2022, he made his debut at the Frankfurt Opera House. Over the course of his career, Pitrėnas has worked with major orchestras including the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra,
Latvian National Orchestra, Krasnoyarsk State Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra and Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra. With these ensembles, he has performed symphonic works by Mahler, Tchaikovsky, R. Strauss, Prokofiev, Lutosławski and Schnittke, touring extensively across Europe as well as in the United States and China.
Video
Concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Bank of Lithuania
Lietuvas blakustiesību asociācija AGATA/
Lithuanian Neighbouring Rights Association AGATA
LITHUANIA
ART
JULIJONAS URBONAS
NOMINATOR:
Lietuvas Mākslas akadēmija/
Lithuanian Academy of Arts
Julijonas Urbonas operates at the intersection of art, critical design, amusement park engineering, performative architecture, choreography, and science fiction. His practice develops speculative scenarios and critical tools for negotiating gravity, ranging from extreme ride designs to large-scale conceptual constructs such as an artificial asteroid composed of human bodies. Within this body of work, he formulates the concept of gravitational aesthetics - an artistic approach that employs the manipulation of gravity to produce experiences extending the limits of the body and imagination. Grounded in postphenomenology, space medicine, particle physics, and outer space anthropology, Urbonas advances an interdisciplinary methodology through which he has established conceptual frameworks such as vehicular poetics and design choreography. These frameworks articulate new relationships between movement, perception, and technological mediation.
SEVERIJA INČIRAUSKÁITĖ-KRIAUNẼVIČIENĖ
NOMINATOR:
Lietuvas Mākslas akadēmija/
Lithuanian Academy of Arts
Severija Inčirauskaitė-Kriaunevičienė is one of the leading figures in contemporary Lithuanian textile art and an internationally recognized artist. Her practice is distinguished by an original artistic language and a distinctive authorial technique, through which she redefines the material and conceptual boundaries of textile. Positioned between tradition and contemporary art discourse, her work engages with questions of materiality, transformation, and cultural memory, often recontextualizing everyday objects through labor-intensive processes. In this way, textile becomes both a medium and a conceptual strategy, enabling a dialogue between craft, design, and contemporary art. Her work has been widely exhibited internationally and is held in major art and design museum collections. She has received numerous awards, including the Lithuanian Government Prize for Culture and Arts (2020) for her significant contribution to Lithuanian culture. She has exhibited alongside internationally renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, Joseph Boys, Jeff Koons, Erwin Wurm, Marina Abramović, Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer, and Banksy.
Instagram: severija_incirauskaite
Facebook: SeverijaInčirauskaitė-Kriaunevičienė
ARTIST DUO, BROTHERS
ALGIRDAS AND REMIGIJUS GATAVECKAI
NOMINATOR:
Lietuvas Mākslas akadēmija/
Lithuanian Academy of Arts
Algirdas and Remigijus Gataveckai are an artist duo whose practice brings together realist representation and conceptual strategies, articulating a socially engaged approach grounded in lived experience. Their work is shaped by their childhood spent in a children’s home in Alytus, which continues to inform their sustained inquiry into personal history, social exclusion, and regimes of visibility. Employing (auto)biographical methodologies, the artists develop a practice in which drawing and painting function as instruments of attention and relationality. Their meticulously executed, photorealistic works foreground the presence of the depicted subject, while the time-intensive process of their production establishes a durational relationship between the artists and those portrayed. Extending beyond the studio, their practice operates within social contexts, often involving long-term collaboration with children and young people in residential and foster care. Through these engagements, their work assumes the form of a participatory and socially embedded practice, addressing the conditions and aftereffects of institutional care. Their work has been presented in a wide range of artistic and social contexts and forms part of an ongoing dialogue on art’s role in processes of representation and inclusion. Among their key works is the drawing You Have Already Looked at Me Longer Than My Parents Ever Did, developed within the long-term project Impact. Working across drawing, painting, sculpture, and graphic design, the Gataveckai combine formal precision with critical reflection, situating personal narrative within broader social and political frameworks.
LITHUANIA
OPERA RISING STAR
EDVINAS JAKONIS, BALETDEJOTĀJS
Edvinas Jakonis is a professional ballet dancer and one of the leading figures of the new generation of Lithuanian ballet artists. Since November 2025, he has held the position of Lead Principal Dancer at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (LNOBT). His career combines strong academic training, international experience and a rapidly developing stage presence, reflected in both classical and contemporary repertoire. Edvinas Jakonis began his professional career as a soloist at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre in 2020. In 2023, he joined the English National Ballet as a First Artist, gaining international stage experience and expanding his artistic range. Since 2025, he has been Lead Principal Dancer at the Lithuanian
National Opera and Ballet Theatre.
NOMINATOR:
Lietuvas Nacionālais operas un baleta teātris/
Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
Soprano Gabrielė Bukinė completed her master's studies in vocal performance at the Music Academy of Vytautas Magnus University under the guidance of Professor Sabina Martinaitytė in 2021. That same year, she began her tenure as a teacher at the Academy of Music of VMU and made her debut at the Kaunas State Music Theater, performing leading roles. Currently, Gabrielė Bukinė is a soloist at the Kaunas State Musical Theatre and the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (LNOBT), as well as a lecturer in vocal performance at the Vytautas Magnus University Music Academy.
Video
ADRIANA LECOUVREUR, FRANCESCO CILEA
PUCCINI, TOSCA — VISSI D’ARTE
Official web page GABRIELEBUKINE
GABRIELĖ BUKINĖ, SOPRANO
IZVIRZĪTĀJS:
Lietuvas Nacionālais operas un baleta teātris/
Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
ŽIBUOKLĖ MARTINAITYTĖ, KOMPONISTE
IZVIRZĪTĀJS:
Lietuvas Nacionālais operas un baleta teātris/
Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
The works of composer Žibuoklė Martinaitytė, winner of the Lithuanian National Prize for Arts and Culture, have been lauded as “breathtaking…profoundly moving” by San Francisco Classical Voice, while The Wire praises her for “complex structures of perception and rich textures of experience” and “stimulating music that bristles with energy and tension.” Her name might be difficult to pronounce, but the beautiful and rigorously built music of Lithuanian composer Žibuoklė Martinaitytė (zhih-BWAH-kleh mar-tin-ay-TEE-tay) falls easy on the ears, Tom Huizenga wrote announcing her album "Saudade" among the NPR Top 10 Classical Albums of 2021. Released on Ondine, the album "Saudade" gained the composer wide critical acclaim with reviews in the New York Times, BBC Music Magazine, San Francisco Classical
Voice, Limelight Magazine and many others. Gramophone Magazine featured the album trailer as a video of the day. "Martinaitytė’s orchestral language is rich, colorful and textured with fine detail. This album makes the case for Martinaitytė as one of today’s most distinctive orchestral composers."
Video
SAUDADE
ON THE THRESHOLD (SOLO VIJOLEI)
Official web page ŽIBUOKLĖMARTINAITYTĖ