Under the motto "Culture Connects," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier honored 29 artists and cultural personalities with an order of merit in a ceremony held Tuesday.

The 13 women and 16 men received the honor for their "extraordinary artistic achievements or superb volunteer work or engagement in cultural policy in our country," said Steinmeier ahead of the ceremony.

Steinmeier's tribute to protest art

"Art must and should reap protest," Steinmeier said as he presented the awards in his official residence in Berlin, the Bellevue Palace. "That we suffer protest in our society and country and know how important it is: that makes up our freedom."

Among the more prominent recipients of the Cross of Merit in 2018 are film composer Hans Zimmer , artist Neo Rauch, photographer  Jim Rakete, artist Wolfgang Tillmans,  director Caroline Link (Nowhere in Africa) and actor Julia Jentsch (Sophie Scholl – The Final Days).

The 29 honored on October 2, 2018

The honors are bestowed upon both German citizens and others who have contributed to culture in a valuable way. Here's the full list of those being honored:

Star chef Christian Bau;

Gallerist Ralf Becker;

Translator of Arabic literature Larissa Bender;

Translator of Hebrew literature Anne Birkenhauer-Molad;

Voice-over artist Christian Brückner;

Writer, historian and doctor of medicine Rainald Goetz,

Singer, producer and composer Annette Humpe;

Actress Julia Jentsch;

Director Caroline Link;

CEO of the Hanover Kunstverein, Ellen Lorenz;

First Culture Minister of the Federal Republic, Michael Naumann;

Photo artist Kathrin Ollroge;

Artistic director of the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz and former co-president of the German-French Council for Cultural Affairs, Thomas Ostermeier;

Director Francois Ozon;

Musician and music educator Heike Preiss;

Portrait photographer Jim Rakete;

Artist Neo Rauch;

Choreographer Martin Schläpfer;

Clarinetist and founder of the International Youth Orchestra Academy, Ulrich S. Schubert;

Jazz and opera singer, Jocelyn B. Smith;

Artist and pro-European activist Wolfgang Tillmans;

Education policy activist and initiator of ArbeiterKind.de, Katja Urbatsch;

Choreographer and dance pedagogue, Be van Vark;

Fashion historian and researcher Barbara Vinken;

Comedian, musician, author and actor, Otto Waalkes;

Artist and restoration artist Gert Weber;

Artist, former CEO of the German Artists Association, Frank Michael Zeidler;

Film music composer Hans Zimmer;

Viola player and head of Bonn's annual Beethoven Week, Tabea Zimmermann.

ct/eg (AFP, dpa, bundespraesident.de)