INTERNATIONAL TREBBIA AWARDS 2001 – 2022
Trebbia Foundation
Trebbia is an international award born in the Prague Church of St. Roch as a natural historical intersection of nearly a thousand years of spiritual development at this site and positive relationships between patrons and creators of cultural values. The French Saint named Roch lived at the turn of 13th and 14th century. He helped in every place of raging plague epidemic. His help seemed like a miracle. In the end, he himself fell ill with the plague and withdrew to a cave on the bank of the Italian river Trebbia. According to the legend an angel appeared and gave him encouragement. The Saint was found by a dog of a noblemen Gothard from Sarmat, the dog brought him a loaf of bread every day. It cured him and he could return to help the suffering people. He died in 1327. Parts of his relics are deposited in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. As an act of thanksgiving for the fact that the plague epidemic evaded Prague, in 1599 Emperor Rudolf II and the Strahov Abbot Jan Lohel initiated the building of a church on the Strahov Monastery grounds, which was dedicated to St. Roch.
Since 1994, this unique space has accommodated the international MIRO Gallery. In 2000, the Gallery has established the European award as an expression of thanks to entrepreneurs, patrons and artists, and named it after the river Trebbia. This award is nowadays presented by the TREBBIA Foundation.
Trebbia Foundation mission is:
- support for activities of companies and individuals in the field of culture and arts on both, national and international levels
- support for exhibition art projects
- independent assistance to humanitarian activities and support for humanitarian activities performed by other subjects
- support for non-profit organizations in the field of humanitarian activities and culture
- awarding grants for creative activities on the basis of decisions made by Trebbia Foundation Board
- assistance to persons in retirement age who had been engaged in the field of culture and arts irrespective of their nationality and country of residence
Founders
MgA. Alena Miro
Has been a soloist of the Prague State Opera since 2003. Here she has performed so far the roles of Micaela (Carmen, G. Bizet), Pamina, 1st lady (The Magic Flute, W. A. Mozart), Nuri (The Lowlands, E. d‘Albert), Cookee (Rusalka, A. Dvořák), or Flora (La Traviata, G. Verdi). In 2001, Alena Miro graduated from the Academy of Music, Drama, and Fine Arts in Bratislava (Slovakia) in the class of the senior lecturer Hana Štolfová-Bandová, ArtD. During her studies, she took and completed international singing interpretation courses under the supervision of Yevgeny Nestjerenko. After that, she perfected her art with Gabriela Beňačková, Irina Kondratěnko and since 2008 with Professor Eva Blahová. In 2004, Alena Miro was awarded the Gustav Mahler Award for Interpretive Singing by the European Union of Arts. In 1996, she completed her studies at the Conservatory in Pardubice in the class of Mgr. Jana Hamplová. During her studies she became the winner of the Competition of Conservatories and in 1994 won the Jarmila Novotná Award at the Antonín Dvořák International Singing Competition in Karlsbad. She has performed not only in the Czech Republic, but also in Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, France, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, China, and Japan. She cooperates with leading Czech orchestras, Vihan’s quartet, she regularly performs at the international music festival Smetana’s Litomyšl etc. Her repertoire includes song, oratory, and opera.
PhDr. MgA. Miroslav Smolák
Director and owner of the MIRO limited partnership, which operates the MIRO Gallery in the church of St. Roch in Prague (address: Strahovské nádvoří 1, 118 00 Prague 1 – Hradčany). He was born on September 12, 1951 and is married to the soprano, Alena Miro (maiden name Medková),a soloist of the Prague State Opera. He has two children Ivo (1972) and Mark (1974). His parents are Vasil and Maria Smolák. From 1972 – 1977 he studied philosophy at J. A. Komenský University in Bratislava (for two and a half years he attended Humboldt University in Berlin as a guest student), receiving his Ph.D. in 1977. He went back to school from 1982 to 1987, studying documentary film making at the Film Academy of Musical Arts in Prague. In 1977 he moved to Berlin. Between 1977 and 1987 he worked as a representative of fine arts, literature and film at the Czechoslovak Cultural and Information Center in Berlin. After 1987 he worked on his own as an art manager. In 1991 he founded the MIRO – Kunsthaus company in Berlin. In 1993 he and his brother, painter Andrej Smolák, established the MIRO Gallery in Slovakia. In 1994 he founded the company MIRO, k.s. in Prague. He has directed 14 documentary films – among which are the films “Pod horou Gazdoráň” and “Ruský potok– aneb lekce z demokracie v ČSFR”, which were shown at several international film festivals. Since 1995, he has been a regular member of the T. G. Masaryk Academy of Arts in Prague. In 1995 he was awarded a medal by the European Circle of Friends of Franz Kafka, in Prague; and, in 1997 he and Petr Uhl were joint recipients of the Matěj Hrebenda Award for the promotion of solidarity between Czechs and Slovaks. In 2001 the American-based GALLUP ORGANIZATION selected the MIRO Gallery as the most popular commercial gallery in Prague. Since 1994 MIRO Gallery has specialized in the presentation of such major modern classical artists as Picasso, Chagall, Braque, Rouault, Rodin, Goya, Miró, Dalí, Warhol, etc. In 1999 he founded the MIRO ART VOUCHER – an international humanitarian project. Since 2000 he has been the cultural vice-president of the Club Diplomatique International. In 2001 he started the MIROTON – Running for Art race, which he organizes in partnership with the Prague International Marathon. Since 2000 MIRO Gallery together with the Trebbia International Nomination Committee has presented the Trebbia European Awards for supporting arts and creative activities. Between the years 2003 – 2007 he was the chairman of the Czech-German Cultural Alliance and the vice-president of the European Union of Arts that is based in Prague. In May 2004 he introduced the Palace of Arts project for the City of Prague, in collaboration with American architect Daniel Libeskind (the designer of the Freedom Tower at the location of the former World Trade Center towers, which were destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attack). The new Palace of Arts project includes concert hall, “black theatre”, Kunsthalle, museum of art collectors, private galleries, restaurants, art studios, residential apartments and a permanent collection of work by Salvador Dalí. In April 2005 he appeared on the North Pole as a member of a Russian expedition. In 2006 he was awarded a „DELFIN CASPIK“ award for developing friendship relations in the field of culture between Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic. In January 2007 he and his wife founded the Trebbia Foundation, for supporting , among other things, retired people formerly active in culture and arts.
Trebbia Foundation Board
- MgA. Alena Medkova, Board chairperson
- Peter Hirjak, Board member
- Zdeňka Sigmundová, Board member
- Birgit Labrada Terna, auditor
