5 awards in 4 months
Awards, awards, awards. Marjeta Hribar, the designer of the Kuolmi brand, has received several awards in the last four months: the Leonardo da Vinci Award in Milan, the Pegasus Award in Venice, the World Best Artists Prize in Palermo, and the Michelangelo Award in Rome. Some are already in her display cases, while others she still has to receive.
>>Everyone asks me how a person gets such an award. Do you apply for a call, or do the award givers simply find you, even if you come from a small town in Zasavje? As I see it, the impossible is possible. No, I did not apply, I did not seek awards. However, I spread the story about coal, as I was given. And somehow it has currently settled in Italy. When I received the first email with the note: We will award you with the International Prize Michelangelo The genius of Italy. The award is given globally to artists who influence changes in people's thinking and meaning through their creations. At that moment, that moment was very precious to me, Marjeta Hribar, a jewelry designer made from coal and the creator of the brand Kuolmi.
"Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo are mentioned in the same sentence as Kuolmi. This is something Marjeta Hribar never even dreamed of. Therefore, she wrote to the organizers to ask if their message was just a nomination or if it was some kind of prank. The answer was clear: No, the award is yours. So Marjeta and her team went to Milan, the fashion capital, to the Leonardo da Vinci Museum to accept the prestigious art award. 'Oh, if only you knew how I was shaking before I stepped on stage. Public speaking is usually not foreign to me, and I always say more than was outlined. But when I received the award and had to give a thank you speech, I almost burst into tears. I have no idea what came out of my mouth, and thank God we will never know, because in my opinion, it was incoherent and funny,' Marjeta recounts.
But she was not the only one. Artists from all corners of the world who came for the statue were, in their own way, completely beside themselves; for everyone, the award ceremony was an extremely important moment. Each was a bit unique, Brazilians, French, Georgian artists, and artists from tiny islands in the middle of the ocean. They were all gathered because someone recognized and noticed them. An artist from South America even established a fund so that people could donate money to her, so she could raise enough and personally take Leonardo in Milan.
Marjeta continues with her impressions: "The surroundings and the museum with all its inventions only emphasized everything even more. I will never forget this. What was particularly interesting to me was that the artists were mainly painters, with only a few sculptors. I somehow don't fit into these artistic waters. A lot of products have indeed come from my hands. I don't say that each of them isn't special, but crowns, shoe jewelry, the heart of Prometheus the miner, trophies for the athlete of the year, medals for the European Championship, are not art that would hang in galleries."
"The art of Marjeta Hribar is intended for people; she herself calls it living art. These are objects with aesthetic value that are useful and inspiring, primarily meant to connect people and bring them joy. 'And if I think about how broad the spectrum was for artists of ancient times and of global stature, they also played in various fields. That is what we have in common, it is true,' says Marjeta. Thus, the opportunity also arose for the Pegasus award, which was presented in the midst of a historic building accompanied by Venetian masks in Venice."
"Now he is going to Palermo for the World Best Artist Prize. Hribar: 'I am very much looking forward to meeting the group of people for whom this award is intended, because each of them is something special. We somehow share that strangeness that artists possess. A slightly different view of the world, and the best part is when we meet. Topics for conversation open up that otherwise wouldn't exist.'"
She is leaving Palermo for Rome. There she will receive the Michelangelo award and will see at least a piece of his works, especially the frescoes. Her great desire is to see his David. All awards bring changes, and in the world of fashion and art, there is much discussion about them worldwide. Marjeta Hribar has already received an offer to exhibit in various European galleries next year. She is currently arranging the paperwork so that her products will appear at the Art Biennale in Cannes next year during the film festival.
"She received an offer to participate in an exhibition at the Louvre in Paris, but finances do not currently allow for it. Maybe next time. 'It warms your heart when you receive an offer, and even if it doesn't go through, you know that your work is good enough that they want to see it in the Mecca for artists, like the Louvre in Paris,' says Marjeta Hribar."
And adds: "I don't know where the road will take me. But I do know that the word about Zasavje coal is spreading even into rooms where our foot has not yet stepped. Zasavje is the law and coal will be here for a long time."
Photo: Marjeta Hribar – personal archive