The winners were announced by Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Abdelaziz Konsowa, who is currently serving as acting culture minister, alongside Supreme Council of Culture Secretary-General Ashraf El-Azzazi.
The awards formed part of this year's State Awards, which also saw former culture minister and artist Farouk Hosny receive the Nile Award in Arts—Egypt's highest cultural honour.
Expressing his gratitude after receiving the Nile Award for Arts, Hosny described the recognition as one of the greatest honours of his career. He thanked the institutions that nominated him, including Cairo University, the Academy of Arts, the Actors’ Syndicate and the Society of Art Lovers, as well as the Ministry of Culture, the Supreme Council of Culture, and its members for their confidence and support.
“I am deeply honoured and delighted to receive the Nile Award in the field of Arts, the highest state honour granted by the Arab Republic of Egypt,” Hosny said.
He also announced that he would donate the award’s monetary prize to Abu El-Reesh Children’s Hospital, saying that while he would always cherish the award’s profound symbolic value, he believed that “the true impact of culture and art is fulfilled through supporting society and serving humanity.”
Hosny also congratulates all recipients of the 2026 State Awards, wishing them continued success and further creativity, excellence and distinction.
Other recipients included Professor Emeritus of Arabic Language and Literature at Al-Banat Faculty, Ain Shams University, and a member of the Egyptian Scientific Institute, Youssef Noufal in Literature, and Professor of Political Science at Cairo University, and Ahmed Youssef in the Social Sciences.
The Nile Award for Arab Creators was presented to distinguished Iraqi poet and literary critic Professor Ali Gaafar Al-Allaq in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Arab literature and culture.
Appreciation Awards
Among this year's State Appreciation Awards, which recognise lifetime contributions to Egypt's cultural life, the honours in the arts category went to veteran actor and playwright Mohamed Sobhy, sculptor El-Sayed Abdo Selim, and master calligrapher Khodeir El-Borsaidy.
The awards comprise 10 honours across the fields of arts, literature and social sciences, with each recipient receiving a gold medal and an EGP 200,000 cash prize.
Sobhy, whose career spans more than five decades, is regarded as one of Egypt's foremost theatre and television figures. He is best known for acclaimed stage productions including Takharif, Weghet Nazar (Point of View), and Mama America, as well as the long-running television series Yawmiyat Wanees (Wanees Diaries). Beyond acting, he has championed theatre education through initiatives such as Studio 80, which trains young performers.
Excellence Award
Meanwhile, the State Excellence Awards, accompanied by a silver medal and EGP 100,000, were awarded to seven recipients whose work has made a significant impact in their respective fields.
Among the winners is theatre director Ahmed Abdel Gelil, who described the recognition as "the highest distinction" of his career, saying it crowned more than five decades of work in Egyptian theatre.
Having directed more than 120 stage productions, he has also contributed to the country's cultural sector through administrative and institutional leadership.
"The value of the award lies not only in its prestige but also in the mechanism through which it is granted," Abdel Gelil said, noting that recipients are selected by a committee comprising leading intellectuals, academics, members of the Supreme Council of Culture and representatives of Egypt's artistic unions.
"I consider this recognition from the Egyptian state to be the highest honour of my life," he added, expressing pride at being recognised alongside what he described as some of Egypt's foremost creative figures.
Encouragement Awards
The council also announced the recipients of the 2026 State Encouragement Awards, granting 28 of the 32 prizes allocated this year across the fields of arts, literature, social sciences, and legal and economic studies. Intended to recognise outstanding individual works by emerging and mid-career creators, each award carries an EGP 50,000 cash prize.
In the arts category, all eight awards were presented. Theatre director Mohamed Zaki was recognised for directing The Artist (Al-Artist), while violinist Ebada Ahmed Ali won the music award for his performance of Korngold's Violin Concerto with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra under conductor Nader Abbassi at the Cairo Opera House.
The cinema award for costume design was shared by Donia Abdel Maaboud for Wish × Wish and Nehal El-Masry for Maqsoum. Director Nesreen Mohamed Abdel Halim and composer Walaa Mosallam jointly received the preschool animation prize for the animated short Winter and the children's song Arabic Letters for Children, respectively.
Other arts recipients included architect Mohamed Tantawy for his residential project Dar Catherine, writer Dina El-Beltagy for her book Delta Cuisine, ceramic artist Rehab Roshdy for her hand-built work Female Vessel, and painter Omar Raafat for Al-Kouheet, recognised in the caricature-inspired visual arts category.
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