Sylvie Guillem Receives 2015 Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award

The Japan Art Association announces that Sylvie Guillem, the French ballerina whose artistry, technical prowess, and vivid dramatic presence have established her as one of the premier dancers of her generation, and Mitsuko Uchida, the Japanese-born British pianist whose deeply personal and insightful interpretations of Mozart and Beethoven have set the highest standards in central repertoire and made her one of the world's greatest artists, have won the 2015 Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award.

They are joined by three other internationally celebrated cultural figures: Tadanori Yokoo, one of Japan's most popular and respected graphic designers and artists; German sculptor Wolfgang Laib, known for installations that call attention to the ephemeral nature of time and the power of nature; and Dominique Perrault, the French architect who "treads his own bold path" with designs that "can be wildly imaginative ... [or] ... abstractly minimal" (The Guardian). Biographies of all the winners can be found here.

At a ceremony in Tokyo on October 21, 2015, Imperial Highness Prince Hitachi, honorary patron of the Japan Art Association, will present each Praemium Imperiale winner with a specially-designed gold medal and a testimonial letter. The award also brings with it 15 million yen (approximately $122,000).

Now in its 27th year, the Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award is one of the most prestigious international prizes in the fields of Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Music and Theatre/Film. The prize has become a powerful voice for the importance of cultural expression in today's world, bringing international attention to the arts in much the same way as the Nobel Prize brings attention to the sciences.

The Japan Art Association also announces that Myanmar's Yangon Film School (headquartered in Berlin) will receive the 2015 Grant for Young Artists, worth 5 million yen (approximately $41,000). The award recognizes a group or institution that encourages young people's involvement in the arts. It was launched in 1997 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Praemium Imperiale.

The Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award

The 2015 Praemium Imperiale laureates join 134 of the greatest cultural figures of the 20th and 21st centuries. They include Ingmar Bergman, Leonard Bernstein, Peter Brook, Anthony Caro, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Norman Foster, Athol Fugard, Frank Gehry, Jean-Luc Godard, David Hockney, Willem de Kooning, Akira Kurosawa, Renzo Piano, Robert Rauschenberg, Mstislav Rostropovich and Ravi Shankar. A complete list of winners can be found here.

"The Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award celebrates the work of the most visionary artists of our age," said Hisashi Hieda , chairman of the Japan Art Association. "The thought- provoking and glorious creations of these individuals remind us that art is a language which reaches across borders, enhancing our understanding of ourselves, each other, and the world around us."

The Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award was created in 1988 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Japan Art Association and to honor the late Prince Takamatsu, who was the association's honorary patron for 58 years.

Cultural and International Leaders Nominate Winners

The winners of the Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award are chosen by the Japan Art Association from a group of artists nominated by advisors from United States, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. Each advisor is guided by the recommendations of a nominating committee comprising cultural leaders from his home country.

Leading the American nominating committee is William Luers, a former president of the United Nations Association of America and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a retired American ambassador and diplomat. This is Mr. Luers' 14th year as American Advisor since succeeding David Rockefeller, Jr., now an honorary advisor.

Said Mr. Luers, "The Praemium Imperiale affirms the power of individual artists from around the world to move us and expand our minds and pleasures. Each of this year's laureates, like those before them, has a unique and profound ability to expand and enrich the human experience."

In addition to Mr. Luers, the international advisory panel includes the statesmen and business leaders Lamberto Dini, a former Italian prime minister; Christopher Patten, Chancellor of the University of Oxford and former Chairman of the BBC Trust; Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, President of Germany's Goethe-Institut; former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin; and Yasuhiro Nakasone, a former Prime Minister of Japan.

The honorary advisors are Jacques Chirac, former President of France; philanthropist David Rockefeller, former CEO of Chase Manhattan Bank; David Rockefeller, Jr., a philanthropist and environmentalist; former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt; and François Pinault, founder of Kering, the French retail conglomerate.

2015 Grant for Young Artists

Myanmar's Yangon Film School (headquartered in Berlin) is the 19th winner of the Grant for Young Artists, which recognizes a group or institution that encourages young people's involvement in the arts. Worth 5 million yen (approximately $41,000), the award was launched in 1997 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Praemium Imperiale.

Previous winners of the Grant for Young Artists include the Instituto Superior de Arte, Cuba; the Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School, (Lodz) Poland; the Hanoi National Conservatory of Music, Vietnam; the Ulster Youth Orchestra, Northern Ireland; The Sphinx Organization, Detroit (MI, USA, which develops young Black and Latino classical musicians; and the Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. A complete list of winners can be found here.

The Japan Art Association

What is now known as the Japan Art Association was created in 1879 by the Meiji Emperor, who had become concerned that Western influences were threatening to eclipse Japanese art forms and traditional crafts. Eager to encourage Japanese artists and to forge relations with other countries, the Emperor created the precursor to today's art association. Since then, the organization and its museum have played an active role in Japan's cultural life, presenting exhibitions of traditional arts and of art from abroad. In 1988, on the association's 100th anniversary, its leaders created the Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award in honor of the late Prince Takamatsu, who had served as honorary patron for 58 years. His wish that Japan promote world peace through the arts is the guiding principle of the Japan Art Association.

# # #

For biographies of the winners and more information about the Japan Art Association, the Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award, and the Grant for Young Artists, please visit www.praemiumimperiale.org/.

# # #

MEDIA CONTACT

Alix Friedman

[email protected]

212 329 1412

LAK Public Relations, Inc.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!