Ministry of Culture and Media: The goal must remain to support artists and strengthen the cultural identity of Montenegro

The Ministry of Culture and Media (MKM) reacted to media reports about recent decisions on granting the status of distinguished cultural creator.

Of the 15 cultural creators who were granted the status of distinguished artists by the Government's decision on Thursday, some names have caused a storm in the public. First and foremost, writer Milutin Mićović, whose selection is being questioned even by the Commission that was tasked with proposing distinguished artists to the Government.

Milutin Mićović is the brother of Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro and the Littoral.

We are publishing the reaction of the Ministry of Culture and Media in full:

"In accordance with Article 52 of the Law on Culture ("Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 49/08, 16/11 and 38/12) and the provisions of the Regulation on the criteria and manner of granting the status of distinguished cultural creator, the Government of Montenegro, upon the proposal of the Ministry of Culture and Media, or the Expert Commission, decides on granting the aforementioned status to artists and cultural experts whose works are of exceptional importance for the culture of Montenegro.

The Ministry of Culture and Media, in accordance with Article 5 of the Regulation, has established an Expert Committee to review initiatives. The Committee is composed of representatives of relevant institutions and associations in the field of culture and art.

The status of "prominent cultural creator" in Montenegro was last awarded in 2021.

From then until June 2025, a total of 15 initiatives for the award of the status of distinguished cultural creator were submitted to the Ministry. After consideration, the Expert Commission positively assessed 15 initiatives.

According to the Regulation on the criteria and manner of awarding the status of distinguished cultural creator, the status of distinguished cultural creator may be awarded to an artist and cultural expert whose work and creativity are of exceptional importance for the culture of Montenegro, if:

1) a Montenegrin citizen and has a permanent residence in Montenegro;

2) winner of at least five relevant domestic and/or international professional and social awards, one of which is the State Award of Montenegro;

3) creativity, or professional work, has been carried out continuously for a period of at least 20 years;

4) contributed to the development of the cultural values ​​of Montenegro and its international affirmation;

5) the relevant professional association has assessed that his work is of exceptional importance for the field in which he creates or operates.

The winner of the Thirteenth of July Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded the status of distinguished cultural creator without applying the criteria from paragraph 1 of this article.

Based on the procedure implemented, after three sessions of the Expert Commission, and in accordance with the minutes of the last session and based on the votes recorded at the session, the status of distinguished cultural creator is awarded to the following candidates, as determined in the individual decisions: Andrija Radulović, Branislav Sekulić, Darko Nikčević, Dimitrije Popović, Dragan Koprivica, Jelena Tomašević, Milutin Mićović, Naod Zorić, Novica Đurić Radovan Radonjić, Roman Simović, Senad Gačević, Dr Srdjam Bulatović, Tomislav Tomo Pavićević and Šerbo Rastoder.

Regarding the information in the media that "the Government of Montenegro and the Ministry of Culture and Media have made a decision to grant the status of a prominent cultural creator, although the commission in charge of that job has not completed its work", we note that the proposals in question were made at the Commission session by counting, and not by a minutes statement. We believe that this means that the Commission has completed its work, and made the list of those who deserve the status indisputable.

The minutes do not create the decision, but only authentically record it. Therefore, even if the minutes were poorly drawn up or even not drawn up at all, the decision itself still exists and produces legal consequences.

At the third and final meeting of the Expert Committee, the members voted for all candidates and thus made their decision.

We would like to remind you that after the Commission session, its member, Mr. Baletić, released a statement informing the public about the outcome of the vote.

Due to the deadlines set in the Regulation on Amendments to the Regulation on the Criteria and Manner of Awarding the Status of Distinguished Cultural Creator, the Ministry was obliged to complete the procedure and submit to the Government the proposals for awarding the status, which were made based on the votes of the commission members from the last session.

In addition to the above-mentioned recipients of the status of distinguished cultural creator, Milutin Mićović, born on June 12, 1953, is a poet, essayist and writer from Nikšić. He is a Montenegrin citizen residing in Nikšić. He is the recipient of the 2021 state award "Miroslavljevo jevanđelje" for the book "Luče u tami Crne Gore", as well as the "Marko Miljanov", "Miodrag Ćupić", "Herceg Šćepan" awards, and awards from the Union of Writers of Russia.

The Writers' Association of Montenegro submitted an initiative to be awarded the status of a distinguished cultural creator. The expert commission, after considering the submitted documentation, decided to accept the initiative. The vote ended with five votes in favor, three against and one abstention. Based on the majority of votes, the Commission proposed that Milutin Mićović, a poet and essayist from Nikšić, be awarded the status of a distinguished cultural creator.

The Ministry of Culture and Media did not interfere in the work of the Expert Commission, but rather it was established in accordance with the Regulation on the criteria and manner of awarding the status of a prominent cultural creator and at the proposal of the institutions.

The commission was formed to consider initiatives and make expert assessments, and its work was carried out in complete independence.

The expert committee consists of: MA Tatjana Kreljić, Dean of the Academy of Music in Podgorica and President of the University of Montenegro; MA Marko Eraković, Advisor in the field of international cooperation, promotion and placement, representative of the Public Institution Film Center of Montenegro, Academician Aleksandar Ćilikov, representative of CANU in the field of cultural heritage, Isidora Damjanović, Business Director of the Public Institution Music Center of Montenegro, Svetlana Dragojević, President of the Association of Fine Artists of Montenegro, Radmila Vojvodić, President of the Association of Dramatic Artists of Montenegro, Novica Đurić, President of the Association of Writers of Montenegro, PhD Dalibor Elezović, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and representative of the University of Montenegro, Academician Branko Baletić, representative of CANU in the field of cultural and artistic creation.

Any attempt to view the winners or members of the commission through the prism of division into Serbs and Montenegrins is harmful and malicious.

"Such divisions are regressing society, culture and artistic creation, while our common goal must remain to support artists and strengthen the cultural identity of Montenegro," the Ministry of Culture and Media, headed by Tamara Vujović (Democratic Montenegro), wrote in a response.

Note: The first version of the text stated that Mićović was the winner of the "Luča" award from Matica Crnogorska. After Matica Crnogorska announced that it had never established this award, the Ministry of Culture and Media sent a statement in which it removed the statement that Mićović was the winner of a non-existent award. It was not explained how this error occurred.