The award is named after the famed movie critic and publicist Normunds Naumanis, who passed away in 2014.
Vilnis Vējš is described by the voting panel as an "ironically serious, critical, witty author who knows how to translate a visual impression into a literary text. He always looks at an art work as a part of the daily life processes, while [he looks at] himself as an important, active person in any of his texts."
The voting panel includes a number of leading art experts. The Normunds Naumanis Society, which organizes the award, is lead by former Minister of Culture and long-time editor-in-chief of the Diena daily Sarmīte Ēlerte.
Among the nominees were Anda Baklāne, Jegors Jerohomovičs, Inese Lūsiņa, Silvija Radzobe, Santa Remere, Edīte Tišheizere, Vilnis Vējš and Margarita Zieda.
The annual award was established to spark critical thinking and improve the quality of art criticism in Latvia.
