Each year since 1947, on the 8 February national cultural holiday which commemorates the anniversary of the death of Slovene Romantic poet and liberal mind France Prešeren, the Prešeren Award (the so-called Grand Prešeren Award) is bestowed on one or two eminent Slovene artists. On the same day the Prešeren Foundation Awards are awarded to up to six artists. These are the highest national awards in the field of arts, selected and granted by the Prešeren Foundation.

Membership of the Awards Board comprises representatives of various artistic disciplines who are nominated by the government and elected in Parliament. Each year Board members elect expert commissions for each artistic discipline, which are required to select one proposal for the Prešeren Award and up to three proposals for Prešeren Foundation Awards. The Board announces the Prešeren Award winner(s) on the occasion of the national celebration, while all nominated candidates for the Prešeren Foundation Award are announced in advance in the media. The Prešeren Award brings not only prestige but also financial reward, as each laureate receives 17,900 Euros. Winners of the Prešeren Fund Awards get 5,900 Euros each.