Grand PiK Gala | Województwo Kujawsko-Pomorskie

Reporters from across Poland competed for awards in the Grand PiK 2026 Competition of Artistic Radio Forms. During Thursday evening’s gala ceremony (May 21), attended by Vice-Marshal Zbigniew Ostrowski representing the regional self-government, the winners of this year’s competition were announced at the Teatr Kameralny in Bydgoszcz.

The Grand PiK 2026 Award, funded by the Marshal of the Region, was presented to Anna Dudzińska and Michał Matus from the radio station Program Trzeci Polskiego Radia for their documentary “12,000 Days: The Heweliusz Ferry Disaster.” The competition jury stated that the authors “created a moving audio series” and awarded the fifth episode, “Stone,” “for its masterful combination of documentary reliability with deep humanism and a story about human trauma.”

While presenting the main prize, Vice-Marshal Zbigniew Ostrowski emphasized the extraordinary power of radio documentaries, manifested through the strength of the spoken word, which reaches not only listeners’ minds but above all their hearts. In this context, he recalled last year’s winner, Michał Słobodzian, and his documentary “Plan B,” which sensitively told the story of parents raising a child on the autism spectrum and worrying about the child’s future after they are gone. Moved by their struggles, the Vice-Marshal declared support last year and, during Thursday’s gala, was able to announce that the regional self-government had indeed provided real assistance to that family as well as to other families facing similar challenges.

“And this is the deepest meaning of a radio documentarian’s work – to influence reality through the art of sound,” concluded Deputy Marshal Zbigniew Ostrowski. Later in the evening, he also congratulated Michał Słobodzian and Żaneta Walentyn, as the journalists from Radio PiK received the Award of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Marta Cienkowska, for the documentary “No Crying Here.” The award recognized “an outstanding achievement in the field of historical radio documentary, constituting a unique artistic testimony to humanity in times of absolute barbarism, a story about music based on the life of a musician from Bydgoszcz imprisoned in German concentration camps.”

The Special Award funded by the Mayor of Toruń went to Magdalena Skawińska for the literary documentary “Josima’s Notebook,” submitted by the Polish Radio Documentary Studio, because she “allowed her protagonists to speak in their own voices, creating an intimate space of trust rarely achieved in contemporary media.”

The second Special Award, funded by the Mayor of Bydgoszcz, was awarded to Adriana Andrzejewska-Kuras for the documentary “So Much and Yet So Much,” submitted by Radio PiK Bydgoszcz. In the work, the author addresses issues fundamental to every human being – the fragility of life, the search for meaning, and the priceless value of everyday small gestures.

The Anna Jachnina Award, funded by Radio PiK, was presented to Michał Szczęch for the documentary “The Road,” submitted by Radio Zachód in Zielona Góra. The award recognized a work that, through the story of its protagonist, presents the idea of freedom as inner strength, courage, and determination in pursuing one’s goal.

Participants of the Grand PiK 2026 Radio Art Workshops awarded a prize funded by Radio PiK to the team consisting of Dariusz Kortko, Artur Pałyga, and Marcin Pietraszewski – authors of the radio play “Himalayas,” submitted by Radio Katowice. The radio play received another distinction as well. The Michał Jagodziński Award, funded by Radio PiK, was presented to Jacek Kurkowski for sound design in the production, as he demonstrated that sound in the “theatre of imagination” is not merely a background for words but an autonomous narrative language, a powerful dramatic tool, and a carrier of profound emotions.

The award funded by the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivode was granted to Dobrawa Czocher for the music composed for the audio documentary “Room 600. Witnesses of Nuremberg,” submitted by the Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor in Warsaw. According to the jury, the music in “Room 600” is not merely a background or illustration for words, but a fully-fledged protagonist and commentator on events.

The Grand PiK Competition of Artistic Radio Forms has been organized by Radio PiK for the seventeenth time. Since 2008, the competition has aimed to promote innovative and original forms of expression in radio productions, using the full richness of sound material – words, music, and ambient sounds – to most fully express the individual artistic vision of the author. For this reason, the meetings organized by Radio PiK are not only an opportunity for competition among radio creators, but above all a unique platform for exchanging experiences and discussing artistic exploration. It is the only competition of its kind in Poland, bringing together creators of radio art: journalists, radio play authors, and other radio producers, not only from regional branches of Polish Radio.

This year’s jury consisted of Magdalena Grzebałkowska, Irena Piłatowska, Krzysztof Kiczek, and Paweł Łysak. The jury was chaired by Professor Piotr Salaber, composer, pianist, conductor, and professor at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz.

Marshal’s Cabinet

May 22, 2026