On Tuesday September 17, the names of the 5 new Praemium Imperiale Laureates will be announced in Paris, London, Berlin, Rome, New York, and Tokyo.

Awarded by the Japan Art Association, the Praemium Imperiale is the world's largest and most prestigious arts prize. Now in its 14th year, the Praemium Imperiale has grown to become a powerful voice for the importance of the Arts in today’s world. It gives international recognition to the arts - much in the same way as the Nobel Prizes do in the Sciences. The Praemium Imperiale is awarded in the five disciplines of Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Music and Theatre/Film. Artists are recognized for their achievements, for the impact they have had internationally on the arts, and for their role in enriching the global community. The five laureates each receive an honorarium of 15 million yen(c. $125,000), and a diploma and medal presented to them by Prince Hitachi, the Japanese Emperor’s younger brother, and honorary patron of the Japan Art Association, in an awards ceremony in Tokyo. The awards ceremony will take place in Tokyo on October 23rd. During their stay in Tokyo, the laureates will also have an audience with the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

Last year, the awards went to Lee Ufan(Painting), Marta Pan(Sculpture), Jean Nouvel(Architecture), Ornette Coleman(Music), and Arthur Miller(Theatre/Film). Laureates awarded in previous years include Sir Anthony Caro, Frank Gehry, Anselm Kiefer, Akira Kurosawa, Robert Rauschenberg, and Mstislav Rostropovich.

International Advisors to the Japan Art Association chair nomination committees and propose candidates for the annual awards. Final selection is made by Japan Art Association selection committees. International Advisors include several prominent statesmen and business leaders: Umberto Agnelli, Raymond Barre, Edward Heath, Yasuhiro Nakasone, William H. Luers, and Richard von Weizsäcker. Jacques Chirac, David Rockefeller, Sr., David Rockefeller, Jr., and Helmut Schmidt are Honorary Advisors.

Praemium Imperiale Grant for Young Artists
In addition to the 5 Praemium Imperiale awards, the Japan Art Association makes an annual grant of 5 million yen(c.$40,000) to a group or institution that encourages the involvement of young people in the arts. The announcement of this grant will take place on September 17th. Last year the award went to Paris based Residénce du Festival to assist their efforts to help young filmmakers. In the years since its inauguration, the Grant for Young Artists has been awarded to the Ulster Youth Orchestra; the Instituto Superior de Arte, Cuba; the National Film, Television and Theatre School, Lodz, Poland; and the Hanoi National Conservatory of Music, Vietnam.

For information, please refer to the website
http//www.praemiumimperiale.org
or contact:
The Japan Art Association, Tokyo
tel:(81 3) 5251 2245  fax(81 3) 5251 2247

Paris
Claudine Colin
ccc@claudinecolin.com
tel: (331) 4272 6001
fax:(331) 4272 5023

London
Sandie Barker
sba@dial.pipex.com
tel: (4420) 7586 4604
fax(4420) 7722 8761

Berlin
Astrid Lilja
astrid.lilja@web.de
cel:49 (0) 172 2929 986
FAX:49 (0) 30 893 22 93

Rome
Francesca Martinotti
info@lagenzia.it
tel: (39 06) 8069 2424
fax: (39 06) 8066 9906

NY
Lloyd Kaplan
tel: (1-212) 575 4545
fax: (1-212) 575 0519