The idea of the competition
The idea of awarding a prize for the best diploma of the Faculty of Art of the University of Rzeszów appeared in 2009. The initiator of this distinction was prof. Krzysztof Skórczewski, with whom I had the pleasure of co-leading classes at the diploma-granting Workshop of Relief Printing. Together we developed the competition assumptions, and the professor suggested that the award be named after Jerzy Panek, an outstanding woodcut artist and draftsman. We invited two professors from the University of Rzeszów to cooperate: Wiesław Grzegorczyk, who designed the logo, and Jerzy Kierski, who is the author and founder of the medal, the main "trophy" of the Jerzy Panek Award. Thanks to prof. Skórczewski's contacts with the Jan Fejkiel Gallery in Krakow and the courtesy of the gallery owner Jan Fejkel, we received several dozen copies of Jerzy Panek's album Dante devoted to the artist's work. The albums were presented to all laureates and distinguished participants.
In 2019, we celebrated the tenth anniversary of the competition, which in its idea aims to select the best diplomas from a wide group of annual graduates of graphics and visual arts, of the Institute of Fine Arts of the University of Rzeszów. The promoters submit to the competition the most artistically mature diplomas, realized in various fields of art, such as painting, workshop graphics, design, drawing, sculpture, photography, animation or video. The evaluation of all sets of works is carried out by the Award Chapter, to which mainly employees of our Institute of Fine Arts are invited.
After a thorough review of the full documentation of individual diplomas, the best of the best is selected — the Winner of the Main Prize. According to the rules