01 October 2024
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The 54th year of the Asiago International Prize for Philatelic Art, also known as the Oscar of Philately and stamps, the Jury has bestowed the gold on two postage stamps. Here's everything we know from this years' awards...
The latest edition of the highly prestigious Asiago International Awards for Philatelic Art was held in Asiago Town Hall in Italy at the end of July. At the event, Åland Post was one of the winners of the international, postage stamp design awards, often referred to as the ‘Oscars of Philately’.
Åland’s stamp Bark Boat in a Jar was awarded the Italian Academy of Philately and Postal History Award for Creativity. It is the first time an Åland stamp has received an award in this competition. The stamp, designed by Finnish art photographer Christoffer Relander, was issued on 9 June 2023. Relander describes the stamp as a preserved childhood memory from Åland. The jury said they had: ‘Awarded the Aland Islands Post for giving an artist full freedom to create a stamp and the photographer Christoffer Relander for crafting an evocative image, both realistic and dreamlike, that captures unquenchable childhood memories.’
POST Luxembourg won best stamp of 2023, alongside the Czech Post, for its ‘Christmas 2023’ stamps dedicated to raising awareness of climate change. Designed by the Luxembourg graffiti artist Alain Welter, the motifs for the 2023 Christmas series were surprising: a Boxemännchen (little brioche man) that sweats and a snowman that melts.
Artist Alain Welter was honoured by this award: "I’m delighted that POST has supported my artistic idea of moving away from traditional Christmas stamps to focus on an issue that humanity must collectively tackle. I’m even more delighted that this idea has also been recognised at international level." This is the second time that POST Luxembourg stamps have won an Asiago Award.
In 2021, the stamps from the series dedicated to ‘Rural Tourism’ won in the Tourism category. A miniature sheet celebrating the works of William Shakespeare was the winning stamp issue from the Czech Republic. Released on 6 September 2023, the sheet featured images of various characters from Shakespeare’s plays. Brazil, Croatia and Italy received awards in the tourism, environment and culture categories. The Asiago Awards are one of the most respected competitions in the philatelic world, and for more than 50 years, they have awarded outstanding stamp designs across five categories.
For the latest from the world of stamp collecting and philately, you can visit our Stamps News page. You can also submit your own stories to our Editor, Alison Boyd via [email protected].