The Visegrad Project of the Year 2025 Award Goes to Ostrava. Sounds of Diversity Triumphs Among More Than 200 Projects.

Our international project Sounds of Diversity, which brings together contemporary music, dance, and lighting design, has received the prestigious Visegrad Fund Project of the Year 2025 award. Selected from hundreds of projects supported by the International Visegrad Fund in 2025, it was chosen as one of four finalists—one representing each Visegrad country—and ultimately became the overall winner in the public vote.

Marcela Kysová, Chair of the Ostrava Creative Centre, one of the project’s organising partners, welcomed the award with gratitude: “This award belongs to everyone who contributed to the project. I would like to thank our partners, artists, and audiences for their trust and support. Sounds of Diversity has shown that art has the power to connect people across countries, cultures, and generations. I believe this recognition is also an encouragement for future international collaborations and new joint projects.”

Presented in 2025, this multidisciplinary concert explored the theme of wellbeing—the search for balance, harmony, and moments of pause in today’s fast-paced world. The original concept combined world premieres of contemporary compositions by four composers from the Visegrad countries, performed by a sixteen-piece orchestra, with dance based on instant composition and immersive lighting design.

The project brought together artists from all four Visegrad countries. It premiered in Ostrava before travelling to Katowice, Žilina, and Budapest. Sounds of Diversity was led by the Ostrava Creative Centre in collaboration with partners from Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. The movement component was created by MOVE Ostrava, whose choreography by Jana Ryšlavá, Lucie Bielik, and Radoslav Piovarči connected the music with improvised movement, completing a vibrant dialogue between the artists and the audience.

“I’m delighted that both the theme and the artistic approach resonated not only with such a large audience, but also with the expert jury of the Fund in selecting the Project of the Year. I hope this award will help bring the project to even more festivals, because the way it connects people through art is truly unique. I believe that is exactly what the project radiates and communicates to its audience,” says Jana Ryšlavá.

The award was accepted by Ostrava-based composer Petra Šuško, one of the authors of the works premiered as part of this year’s project. "Across four concerts in Ostrava, Katowice, Žilina, and Budapest, the rich stylistic diversity of the individual creators came together in a surprisingly harmonious whole. We are thrilled and deeply honoured to receive this prestigious award, especially because the project is firmly rooted in contemporary music and dance—art forms that are still not an established part of the cultural mainstream. It is proof that new artistic forms have an important place in society,” said Šuško after the project was announced as the overall winner.

According to the participating composers, one of the project’s greatest strengths is its international collaboration. Viktor Molnár, the Hungarian composer of The Zone, reflects: “It was a great honour to be part of Sounds of Diversity 2025, especially as this was the first year Hungary joined the initiative. As a composer, I found it incredibly inspiring to write for such a unique ensemble and to collaborate with an exceptionally motivated and culturally diverse team of artists. I hope our work brought powerful and joyful experiences to many people, and I sincerely wish the project continued success and a long, flourishing future.”

Polish composer Przemysław Scheller shares a similar perspective on the award: “I am truly delighted that Sounds of Diversity has received this award. I see the project as groundbreaking because it addresses one of today’s most important social issues—wellbeing—through the innovative language of music, dance, and art. As the composer of one of the featured works, I feel there is still so much left to discover, and that the project simply has to continue. Both the audiences and everyone involved feel a deep connection to its creation and development.”

The Visegrad Fund Project of the Year 2025 award is a testament to the fact that contemporary music and dance—genres that unfortunately still remain on the margins of mainstream cultural programming—can captivate both wide audiences and the professional community. It also demonstrates that Ostrava is a place where projects with international reach and genuine human impact can emerge.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the project, everyone who voted, all audience members who joined Sounds of Diversity in 2025, as well as our partners: Związek Kompozytorów Polskich, Nová synagóga Žilina, and UMZE Ensemble.