The most interesting artists of The 4th Bielsko-Biała Festival of Visual Arts 2018 awarded

"Territorial Defense of the Country" by Teresa Sztwiertnia - Main Award for a subtle and witty comment on reality. Sponsor's Prize for pro-social "Camouflage" by Krystyna Nikiel.
Four artists will show their individual exhibitions in the main Bielsko-Biała galleries as additional awards.

On 29 June, 2018, during the opening ceremony at the Old Factory (branch of the Historical Museum in Bielsko-Biała), the festival organizers presented awards to the most outstanding artists selected by the jury.

The top prize , which was funded by the Mayor of the City of Bielsko-Biała, went to Teresa Sztwiertnia for the painting: Territorial Defense of the Country (oil on canvas, 2017). The jury praised the artist  for “consistent improvement of style characterised by precise depiction, illusionistic modelling of depth, pastel colours, and themes defined in the category of magical realism. Her Territorial Defence of the Country is one of the few works at the exhibition which provides comment on reality, although the artist does it in a subtle and witty way, without imposing an unambiguous interpretation on the viewers".

Another prize, which was sponsored by the water supplier Aqua SA was presented to Krystyna Nikiel for the work entitled Camouflage from 2014. The jury appreciated the painting “for its realistic depiction of a daily occurrence on a staircase of a typical block of flats, and at the same time, for the empathic attempt to address the universal problems of loneliness, abandonment, lack of prospects.”

The jury also granted four special awards in the form of solo exhibitions:
The Director of Galeria Bielska BWA Agata Smalcerz honoured the photographic artist Joanna Chudy from Bielsko-Biała for her photographic diptych from the series Red / Czerwony (2016-2017) displaying “minimalist form counterbalanced by intense colour.”

Inez Baturo, the President of the Centre for Photography Foundation, presented an award to Małgorzata Fober for “sensitivity to the form , purity of composition and economy of expression".

Iwona Purzycka, Director of the Historical Museum in Bielsko-Biała, gave an award to Piotr Wisła, a graphic artist, painter, and author of the festival's  logo showing the pupil of an eye in a hand, for his lifetime achievements.   

Mirosław Mikuszewski, the President of the Association of Polish Visual Artists in the District of Bielsko-Biała will host a solo exhibition for Ewa Bergel. The artist received a special prize for Portal - a fabric work which “perfectly combines geometry with natural motifs, thus stimulating imagination and serving as an open gateway to the artist's world.”