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The  Per Artem ad Deum Medal has been awarded for 20 years at the Targi Kielce's SACROEXPO;  it arises from the idea of dialogue between culture and spirituality, between the artist and the human being, and also between the world and the spiritual.  The Per Artem Ad Deum medal symbolises bridges built between beauty and spirituality, between human sensitivity and what is invisible and eternal. The meeting of artists from different fields results in a unique dialogue in which the Christian heritage and universal values find common expression in word, image, and gesture. The Pontifical Council for Culture awarded the Per Artem Ad Deum distinction from 2005 to 2022.  They have already been awarded to 33 outstanding artists, including exceptional composers:   Ennio Morricone, Krzysztof Penderecki and Wojciech Kilar, director Krzysztof Zanussi and the Swiss architect Mario Botta. Since 2022, the medal has been awarded under the Vatican Dicastery for   Culture and Education patronage.

Faith from the Word

This year’s award was presented to two winners:  Adam Ziemianin, an outstanding Kraków poet associated with the trend of poetry set to music, for "intertwining the spiritual of everyday life with spiritual depth and leading towards transcendence through poetry" and Jedność Publishing House, one of the oldest Catholic publishing houses in Poland, "for the work of evangelisation and educating successive generations in the spirit of Christian values." 

Adam the Earthlingis the author of lyrics full of tenderness and everyday spirituality. Outstanding Polish artists have used his poems, including those from the Wolna Grupa Bukowina and the bands Pod Budą, Stare Dobre Małżeństwo, and U Studni. He is the author of the many volumes: Poems for Mary, Hail Mother - full of grace, Prayers of my age, Trying on a Wig.  Spirituality in Adam Ziemianin's work is visible in the words of songs, publications, and articles, but above all in poems. His poetry is characterised by simplicity and authenticity, which makes spiritual searches and reflections close to every reader. Adam Ziemianin’s poetry is a kind of sincere, humble prayer in which the sacred intertwines with the profane. The poet not only looks for an answer that reveals the mystery of existence but also refers to Christian values such as love, humility, forgiveness, and gratitude, which bring us closer to God.

Jedność Publishing House is one of the oldest and largest Catholic publishing houses in Poland, with a history dating back to 1918. The Publisher's offer includes a wide selection of religious titles in dogmatic and moral theology, catechesis, biblical studies, homiletics and preaching, books for biblical meditation, albums, and fiction. The flagship series: Padre Pio's Library, Holy Scripture for Children, Great Saints.  The first major project of "Jedność" was "The Bible for Everyone", authored by the author associated with the Per Artem Ad Deum medal as president of the Pontifical Council for Culture (2009-2022) HE Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi. This 10-volume work, containing nearly 4,000 pages, is a modern, comprehensive commentary on the Holy Scriptures for the lay faithful.  At the end of the 1990s, "Jedność" entered into cooperation with the German publishing house Herder (winner of the Per Artem ad Deum 2015) and has so far published several dozen titles licensed by the publishing house, which have become a permanent part of the canon of theological literature, such as:  New Biblical Lexicon (Herders Neues Bibellexikon) and publications by the most respected theologians in the German-speaking world, headed by Joseph Ratzinger.

This year's Per Artem Ad Deum awards are presented during the gala on ,2  June  at 3pm at the Targi Kielce Congress Center. The event will gain extra splendour owing the concert by a band representing the poetry set to music "Land of Gentleness" genre , "U Studni," whose work is a subtle mixture of sung poetry, ballads, and reflective stories about man, the world, and spirituality. Most of the lyrics to the band's songs were written by Adam Ziemianin, who will be a guest performer during the concert and will recite his poems.

Admission to the concert is free - prior registration required. - subject to availability

At this year’s Sacroexpo, the volume of poems “To Tu – To Tam” published by Targi Kielce and Jedność will be presented for the first time. This premiere copy includes previously unpublished poems by the author, haiku poetry, and drawings by the poet Adam Ziemianin. 

The Sacroexpo for the 26th time at Targi Kielce. This year' expo continues - 2-4 June