IROKO AWARD 2014 TO NARCISA KNEŽEVIĆ ŠIJAN,
ACTING DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART, BELGRADE
IROKO Awards interview with awardee N. K. Sijan, MAA director
The Iroko award is an international prize that has been awarded since 2012 to professionals in the field of music, visual art, medicine, as well as the communication and media fields, who in the best way represent the African continent. Also, this award is given to organizations that, in the current year, offered great contributions to the cultural and economic development between Africa and Eastern-European countries. This year, among the winners, are experts from Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Serbia.
Narcisa Knežević Šijan, a. d. director of the Museum of African Art, has received the honorary Iroko Award for life-long achievement. The prize was awarded at a ceremony, which took place on November 15th, 2014 in Budapest.
The iroko in West African Yoruba traditions is the symbol of greatness, one of the most characteristic and perhaps the most prominent tree species of Africa. It provides shade and protection for those in need. In many villages there is a huge Yoruba tree standing in the center of the settlement, which brings the inhabitants together trough different community activities, like buying and selling food and different baubles. As a symbol of great and authoritative actions the Iroko Awards might as well become the means of successful integration in the future.
