On December 2, 2024, the Lithuanian Artists' Union presented the Golden Muse / Golden Badge of the Year award to the 2024 laureates, including Assoc. Prof. Matas Jonas Dūda, Department of Graphic Arts, Vilnius Academy of Arts.

Matas Dūda is an artist, born in 1976 in Tallinn, who graduated from the M.K. Čiurlionis Art Gymnasium in Vilnius and the Department of Graphic Arts of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, where he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in printmaking. He defended his Licentiate of Arts degree in 2006 after studying at the Tallinn Academy of Arts. Dūda has been working at the Vilnius Academy of Arts since 2004, where he has taught intaglio and bookbinding and has become an associate professor. His many years of pedagogical and professional experience have shaped the artist as a unique and important figure in the Lithuanian art community.

Dūda’s creative work is distinguished by his mastery of intaglio techniques and the subtleties of bookbinding. The author, inspired by the old traditions of graphic art, constantly explores various forms of artistic expression, for example, in his personal exhibition “Gibaras Bauzdint” he experimented with the black etching technique, conveying impressive, atmospheric compositions. Dūda’s work is dominated by explorations of materiality, and his works often involve the audience through meditative, attention-focusing elements.

Dūda has been participating in international exhibitions since 1997, his work has been exhibited in Lithuania and abroad, including the Seoul and Leipzig book fairs and the Estonian biennials. Together with the Lithuanian Bookbinders Guild, the artist constantly contributes to the dissemination of book art.

This year, awards were also given to a. a. Andrius Grigalaitis and Rasa Žukienė. An exhibition presenting the works of the laureates is currently open at Vilnius City Hall until January 25, 2025.