Since its launch in 2002, the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative has connected artists around the globe. Last week in Venice, the luxury watchmaker announced seven new mentors for 2014-2015.
The watchmaker's new crop of mentors includes The English Patient author Michael Ondaatje...
The master artists, who will spend a year in creative collaboration and exchange with an emerging talent in their respective fields, are: Olafur Eliasson (visual arts), Alejandro González Iñárritu (film), Michael Ondaatje (literature), Alexei Ratmansky (dance), Kaija Saariaho (music), Jennifer Tipton (theatre), and Peter Zumthor (architecture).
Rebecca Irvin, Head of The Rolex Institute, commented, “These seven new mentors are taking the Rolex programme in exciting new directions. For the first time, for example, we have a classical composer, Kaija Saariaho, as music mentor; a Latin American director, Alejandro González Iñárritu, as film mentor; a creator of lighting, Jennifer Tipton, as theatre mentor; and Alexei Ratmansky as our first classical ballet choreographer.”
According to Rolex, they have already begun a global search to identify the protégés the new mentors will be working with. The protégés, who will be announced in mid-2014, each receive 25,000 Swiss francs to support his or her participation in the programme. At the conclusion of the mentoring year, each protégé is eligible for an additional 25,000 Swiss francs for the creation of a new work.
The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative recently shared a video tracking the experience of mentors and protégés. You can also see portraits of the seven new mentors in our gallery below.
Photos courtesy Rolex.
