On Monday, July 11, the names of the new Praemium Imperiale Laureates were announced in London, Berlin, Paris, Rome, New York and Tokyo. The 5 recipients are as follows:

Bill Viola     (USA)          Painting

Anish Kapoor          (UK)           Sculpture

Ricardo Legorreta         (Mexico)      Architecture

Seiji Ozawa        (Japan)       Music

Judi Dench                  (UK)            Theatre/Film

The artists are recognized and awarded for their achievements, for the impact they have had internationally on the arts, and for their role in enriching the global community. The five recipients each receive 15 million yen (approximately $182,000 / EUR 130,000 / £113,000), and a diploma and medal presented by honorary patron of the Japan Art Association Prince Hitachi in an awards ceremony in Tokyo. The awards ceremony will be held in Tokyo on October 19, 2011.

In addition to the Praemium Imperiale awards in 5 categories, the Japan Art Association gives an annual grant of 5 million yen to a group or institution that encourages the involvement of young people in the arts.

2011 Grant for Young Artists has been shared by:
The Royal Court Young Writers Programme (London)
Southbank Sinfonia (London)

The award was announced on July 11 at a press conference in London at Claridge’s, presided over by International Advisor Lord Patten of Barnes, in the presence of Prince and Princess Hitachi. Mr. Hisashi Hieda, chairman of the Japan Art Association, gave the diploma and grant of 2.5 million yen (approximately $30,000 / EUR 21,500 / £18,500) each to representatives of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme and Southbank Sinfonia at the press conference in London.

The related events for your coverage are:

On October 18: Joint press conference of the laureates and the international advisors followed by individual press meetings of each laureate. On October 19, after the awards ceremony scheduled at 17:00, there will be a cocktail reception open to the press. On October 20, at 16:00 there will be a commemorative lecture by the laureate of architecture category.

 Given information and photos should not be used for other purposes but for reporting of the Praemium Imperiale. When reporting, all the credits including the names of the works, dates and captions should be quoted as shown in the press kit, and in order to confirm this, we retain the right to proofread the articles.

The Japan Art Association
1-2 Ueno-park, Taito-ku, Tokyo
TEL: 03-5832-6464   FAX: 03-5832-6465
Web site: http://www.japanart.or.jp   http://www.praemiumimperiale.org