The State Council of the Canton of Valais has awarded the 2013 cultural prizes: This year's culture prize goes to the musician Javier Hagen. One sponsorship prize each goes to the musician Sarah Brunner, the video artist Samuel Dématraz and the actor Léonard Bertholet.
Born in Barcelona in 1971, Javier Hagen has been director of the contemporary music festival forum: wallis since 2006 and is one of the co-founders of the Valais section of the International Society for Contemporary Music. He studied classical singing, song and medieval and baroque music in Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
Sarah Brunner was born in Eischoll in 1984 and studied organ with Monika Henking as well as church music and choir conducting with Ulrike Grosch, Stefan Albrecht and Pascal Mayer at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. She has been a church musician in Visp and Zermatt since 2012.
The Valais Culture Prize, which has been awarded since 1980, is endowed with CHF 20,000. Established in 1982, the prize of 10,000 francs is awarded to three people at a time and is intended both as recognition for their work and as an incentive to continue on their chosen path.
Since 2011, a special prize, also worth CHF 10,000, has been awarded to a person or group that is "committed to the development of Valais culture away from the stage". This year it goes to the Oberwalliser Kellertheater.
