For the Groningen Cultuurprijs 2019 Davey Smand was approached to think of something as a goblet or plaque to give accompanying to the big cheque prize. Because it is so fundamentally Groningen, Smand thought the prize also had to be something typical Gronings.

In Groningen there is a long tradition of growing and processing sugar beets, so that aspect had to be incorporated into the prize. Something else that is typical Groningen is the Martini Tower in the city. The locals lovingly refer to it as d’Olde Grieze, which translates into the Old Grey One. Fun fact, the tower used to be higher but in a war with the Venetian pope centuries ago the original top got shot off with canons. In the end the Groningen people defeated the Venetian pope making them even more proud of their tower withstanding the canon fire, at least most of it.

The prize itself is the outline of a sugar beet cut in a laser cutter with a translucent photograph fitted inside.