Ms Andrea Blanár, President of the Canadian Hungarian Artists’ Collective in Montreal, Quebec was awarded the Pro Cultura Hungarica medal by István Hiller, Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Hungary for her continuous and dedicated work to preserve, promote and enrich Hungarian cultural values in Canada as well as in Hungary. Ms Blanár has been the initiator and unflagging driving engine of the excellently organised and very successful Re:in Situ exhibitions last summer and fall in Szentendre and Keszthely, Hungary which clearly demonstrated the talent of the Canadian-Hungarian artists and the unity of Hungarian culture.

The award was presented by Pal Vastagh, Ambassador of Hungary to Canada on the eve of the Day of the Hungarian Culture at a reception held in Foyer Hongrois, Montreal, in the presence of a great number of friends and admirers of Ms Blanár. Madame Svetlana Litvin, Political Councelor of the Ministry of Immigration and Cultural Communities of Québec attended the event, too and wholeheartedly congratulated Ms Blanár for her lifelong dedication to the promotion of cultural values and community service.