Hundreds of Artists from Around the World Slated for 2018 Rolex Arts Weekend in Berlin

Hundreds of internationally acclaimed artists, rising talents and leading members of Germany's artistic community will gather at some of Berlin's most important cultural institutions on 3 and 4 February 2018 for the Rolex Arts Weekend. The weekend is a series of public events featuring work by the protégés and the mentors of the 2016?2017 Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative.

Tickets will be available in advance to the public for performances, presentations, exhibitions, installations, readings and screenings, including three world premieres, in the Rolex programme's seven artistic disciplines: dance, music, theatre, film, literature, visual arts and architecture.

Those attending events at the Deutsches Theater and Kammerspiele, the Staatsbibliothek and the Gemäldegalerie will witness the culmination of the eighth cycle of this programme, which pairs emerging and master artists for a year of creative exchange in a one-to-one mentoring relationship.

The curator of the Rolex Arts Weekend is Stefan Schmidtke, the German director, dramaturge and festival director who is currently head of programmes and events at the Humboldt Forum, the unique cultural institution combining education, Science and the arts that will open in Berlin in 2019. Schmidtke was most recently Director and Curator of the Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival) and previously served as a nominator in the Arts Initiative, helping to identify potential protégés.

Rebecca Irvin, Head of Philanthropy at Rolex, said: "We are delighted to bring this unique philanthropic programme to Berlin, whose thriving arts scene and vibrant culture make it the perfect location and a wonderful destination for our participating artists."

"The seven talented protégés will demonstrate the insights they gained from their mentors over the past year, illustrating the importance of inspiring a new generation of artists that is integral to the Rolex Initiative's mission. Rolex has a long commitment to the arts and the transmission of excellence is important to the company, which recognizes and supports individual achievement."

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Highlights of the Rolex Arts Weekend:

Saturday 3 February and Sunday 4 February

Visual Arts

The opening event is a talk with performance and video artist Joan Jonas and her protégée, Vietnamese visual artist Thao-Nguyen Phan, who will introduce Poetic Amnesia, an exhibition of her own works.

Theatre

Argentinian director and protégé Matías Umpierrez will present the first part of his series The Museum of Fiction with the world premiere of IMPERIO, a unique video installation and performance, which includes a performance by Umpierrez's mentor Robert Lepage.

Architecture

Swiss architect and urbanist, protégé Simon Kretz, and mentor Sir David Chipperfield will debate their forthcoming joint publication on urban challenges in today's cities with a panel of renowned artists and architects.

Film

Academy Award-winning director Alfonso Cuarón and his protégé, Indian writer and film-maker Chaitanya Tamhane, will conduct a wide-ranging talk on cinema moderated by Berlinale curator Christoph Terhechte and accompanied by film clips.

Dance

Prior to presenting the world premiere of her solo work You Asked, South African dance protégée Londiwe Khoza and her mentor, Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin, will discuss and demonstrate Naharin's innovative dance technique, Gaga.

Literature

Mozambican writer and mentor Mia Couto and his protégé, Brazilian author Julián Fuks, will examine the topic "Reality and Other Inventions", moderated by Fiammetta Rocco of The Economist. Deutsches Theater actors will read excerpts from their works.

Music

Mentor Philip Glass will introduce his protégée, Peruvian composer and intermedia artist Pauchi Sasaki, who will present a world premiere of an extract from her electro-acoustic project GAMA, and a compilation of short pieces inspired by traditional Peruvian music.

Arts Symposium

Harvard University Professor Homi K. Bhabha will lead a debate examining the nature and necessity of arts education. Panellists will include some of today's most innovative artists and practitioners, all former participants in the Rolex Arts Initiative.

In addition to the weekend events, Rolex will honour all the mentors and protégés of the 2016-2017 cycle in a special presentation on Monday evening, 5 February 2018 at the Staatsoper unter den Linden. A limited number of seats for this presentation will also be available to the public.

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Previous celebrations of the Rolex Arts Initiative have been held in New York, London, Venice and Mexico City.

Rolex's philanthropic programmes build on founder Hans Wilsdorf's entrepreneurial spirit and his commitment to contribute to society by supporting institutions and individuals aiming to create a better future and inspire new generations.

Rolex has been at the forefront of corporate philanthropy for more than four decades, since the introduction in 1976 of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, a programme supporting individuals carrying out groundbreaking work in Science and the environment.

The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative is the company's second major philanthropic programme. Created in 2002 to make a contribution to global culture, it seeks out gifted young artists from around the world and brings them together with artistic masters for a year of mentoring and creative collaboration. ln keeping with its tradition of supporting excellence, quality and performance, all values inherent to Rolex, the company gives emerging artists time to learn, create and grow. Since its launch 15 years ago, the mentoring programme has evolved into an enriching dialogue between artists of different generations, cultures and disciplines, helping ensure that the world's artistic heritage is passed on.

Among 50 of the world's most distinguished artists who have served as mentors to 50 protégés are: Margaret Atwood, John Baldessari, Tahar Ben Jelloun,(the late) Trisha Brown, (the late) Patrice Chéreau, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Olafur Eliasson, Brian Eno, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, William Forsythe, Stephen Frears, Gilberto Gil, Alejandro González Iñárritu, William Kentridge, (the late)Sir Peter Hall, David Hockney, Rebecca Horn, Sir Anish Kapoor, Ji?í Kylián, Lin Hwai-min, Toni Morrison, Walter Murch, Mira Nair, Youssou N'Dour, Jessye Norman, Martin Scorsese, Kazuyo Sejima, Peter Sellars, Álvaro Siza, Wole Soyinka, Julie Taymor, Saburo Teshigawara, Kate Valk, Mario Vargas Llosa, Robert Wilson, Zhang Yimou and Pinchas Zukerman.

Further information about the Rolex Arts Initiative is available at rolexmentorprotege.com; and about the events in Berlin in February 2018 at artsweekend.rolexmentorprotege.com.