On Wednesday, September 12, the names of the 5 new Praemium Imperiale Laureates were announced in New York, London, Paris, Rome, Berlin and Tokyo. The 5 recipients are as follows:

Cai Guo-Qiang      (China)              Painting
Cecco Bonanotte  (Italy)                Sculpture
Henning Larsen    (Denmark)         Architecture
Philip Glass           (USA)                Music
Yoko Morishita      (Japan)            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. Each laureate receives an honorarium of 15 million yen, and a diploma and medal will be presented by honorary patron of the Japan Art Association Prince Hitachi in an awards ceremony held in Tokyo on October 23, 2012.

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.

2012 Grant for Young Artists was awarded to:
The Sphinx Organization (Detroit, USA)

The award was announced on September 12 at the press conference in New York, presided over by International Advisor Mr. William Luers. Mr. Hisashi Hieda, chairman of the Japan Art Association, gave the diploma and grant of 5 million yen to the organization.

The related events for your coverage are:
On October 22: Joint press conference of the laureates and the international advisors followed by individual press meetings of each laureate. On October 23, after the awards ceremony scheduled at 17:00, there will be a cocktail reception open to the press. On October 24, at 16:00 there will be a commemorative lecture by the laureate by Henning Larsen and at 18:00 a lecture by Cai Guo-Qiang.

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.

For detailed information regarding the laureates, and related photos,
please contact:
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