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The Praemium Imperiale Prize is considered the "Nobel" of the arts. Among the six winners announced this Tuesday, September 17 include the South African artist William Kentridge, devoted in the field of painting, and Demos, a French initiative to encourage disadvantaged children to play classical music.
Awarded for thirty years by the imperial family of Japan on behalf of the Japan Association of Fine Arts, the prize Praemium Imperiale is considered, with its endowment of 15 million Japanese yen (125,000 euros) for each laureate, also as the "Nobel" of the arts. It is awarded in six artistic fields: painting, sculpture, architecture, music, theater or cinema.
Painting: William Kentridge
This year, the multi-talented South African artist William Kentridge, 64, as well known for his work as a painter, photographer, visual artist, director and director, has been honored in the field of painting. . Born into a family of Jewish immigrants, he has been very active in the anti-apartheid struggle and has always defended a " moral relationship with society ".
Sculpture: Hatoum Mona
In sculpture, the United Kingdom-based Palestinian multiform artist Mona Hatoum, born in 1952 in Beirut, won the prestigious distinction. Originally from a Palestinian family exiled in Beirut, she exiled herself in 1975, when Lebanon's civil war prevented her from returning to London from Beirut. The themes of separation and hybrid forms are at the heart of his work. In 2017, after receiving the Hiroshima Art Prize, she designed a piece of charred furniture to echo the destruction caused by the atomic bomb, but also to warn about the traumatic consequences of wars and ecological disasters. 'today.
Architecture: Tod Williams and Billie Tsien
The architecture award was given to two self-professed optimists: Tod Williams and Billie Tsien. The American architectural couple has been working since 1977 together for a " deeply optimistic " architecture. Their creations include the American Folk Art Museum (2001), the Frak Center at Lakeside (2013) in New York and the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College in the United States.
Music: Anne-Sophie Mutter
Germany's Anne-Sophie Mutter won the Praemium Imperiale prize in the music field. Considered one of the greatest violinists of our time, she made her debut at the age of 13 with the legendary conductor von Karajan, then continued to work with the world's greatest conductors . The jury praises " its technique of vibrato, subtle and so singular, are indisputable, as well as its remarkable expressive power, its musical knowledge or its passion for very diverse styles ".
Theater: Bando Tamasaburo
Already declared a "living national treasure" by the Japanese government in 2012, Japan's 69-year-old Bando Tamasaburo has just been awarded the Praemium Imperiale prize in the theater field. Regarded as a legend in the world of Japanese Kabuki theater, he became famous for his interpretations of female roles and " his extraordinary ability to recreate feminine beauty and express the spirit of the characters he plays ".
Beyond that, he has always sought to transcend the boundaries of his art. For example, he played Desdemona in Shakespeare's Othello and worked with the great cellist Yo-Yo Ma to create a choreographic work on Bach's music. He was also part of the creation of Maurice Lear's King Lear . And the filmmaker Andrzej Wajda gave him not only the male lead, but also the female lead in his film Natasha .
Incentive Prize: Demos
The incentive prize went to France. Selected by the International Councilor Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the Young Artists Prize has been awarded to the Demos program (educational and musical device with social vocation). Coordinated by the Philharmonie de Paris, this music education program aims since 2010 to transmit a classical music education to young people between 7 and 12 years old, from neighborhoods or disadvantaged areas. Specifically, children receive free instruments and up to four hours of lessons per week for three years.