The Award was named after Radoslav Putar, eminent art historian, critic and curator, who by his effort significantly directed Croatian culture towards the contemporary visual arts language. His work was also significant in its social aspect, because he promoted the ideas of democracy and advocated dialogue, tolerance, freedom of expression and the openness to other cultures. We can hardly imagine today to what extent his work was indeed heroic, and we can positively assert that his contribution to theory and practice provided one of the keystones of contemporary Croatian art and culture.



The important features of the Award are the openness and the public accessibility of the contest, as well as the accessibility to public scrutiny of the entire organization of the contest for the young artists, while the Jury composed of experts has to guarantee that the award winner is selected in a fair way, without prejudice, and that the decision on the winner rests entirely upon professional considerations. The contest has to be selective and prestigious, for the artists as well as for all other participants.



The project of the prize has been conceived as a new and prestigious point of gathering of the most creative forces of contemporary scene, locally, where the prize is being awarded, but also regionally, in the countries where the prize is acknowledged.