Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative

The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative is a philanthropic programme by Swiss watchmaker Rolex that pairs gifted young artists with internationally recognized masters in architecture, dance, film, literature, music, theatre and visual arts for a year of creative collaboration in a one-to-one mentoring relationship. The initiative was launched in 2002 and runs every two years.[1]

The mentoring programme grew out of a desire by Rolex to support artists in the same way that the Rolex Awards for Enterprise were supporting scientists, conservationists and explorers. Mentor and protégé are expected to work together for six weeks over a two-year period.[2] Each protégé receives a grant of about $41,000 in addition to funds for travel and expenses.[3]

Participants

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Not every discipline is covered in each cycle.[4]

Architecture

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(The architecture discipline was launched in 2012)

  Mentor Protégé
2012–2013 Kazuyo Sejima (Japan) Zhao Yang (China)
2014–2015 Peter Zumthor (Switzerland) Gloria Cabral (Paraguay)
2016–2017 David Chipperfield (UK) Simon Kretz (Switzerland)
2018–2019 David Adjaye (Ghana / United Kingdom) Miriam Kamara (Niger)
2023–2024 Anne Lacaton (France) Arine Aprahamian (Lebanon / Armenia)

Dance

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  Mentor Protégé
2002–2003 William Forsythe (United States) Sang Jijia (China)
2004–2005 Saburo Teshigawara (Japan) Junaid Jemal Sendi (Ethiopia)
2006–2007 Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (Belgium) Anani Dodji Sanouvi (Togo)
2008–2009 Jiří Kylián (Czech Republic) Jason Akira Somma (United States)
2010–2011 Trisha Brown (United States) Lee Serle (Australia)[4]
2012–2013 Lin Hwai-Min (Taiwan) Eduardo Fukushima (Brazil)
2014–2015 Alexei Ratmansky (Russia/United States) Myles Thatcher (United States)
2016–2017 Ohad Naharin (Israel) Londiwe Khoza (South Africa)
2018–2019 Crystal Pite (Canada) Khoudia Touré (Senegal)

Film

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(The film discipline was launched in 2004)

  Mentor Protégé
2004–2005 Mira Nair (India) Aditya Assarat (Thailand)
2006–2007 Stephen Frears (United Kingdom) Josué Méndez (Peru)
2008–2009 Martin Scorsese (United States) Celina Murga (Argentina)
2010–2011 Zhang Yimou (China) Annemarie Jacir (Palestine/Jordan)
2012–2013 Walter Murch (United States) Sara Fgaier (Italy)
2014–2015 Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Mexico) Tom Shoval (Israel)
2016–2017 Alfonso Cuarón (Mexico) Chaitanya Tamhane (India)
2020–2022 Spike Lee (United States) Kile Bell (United States)
2023–2024 Jia Zhangke (China) Rafael Manuel (Philippines)
2025-2026 Boong Joon-ho (South Korea) Rahul M (India)

Literature

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  Mentor Protégé
2002–2003 Toni Morrison (United States) Julia Leigh (Australia)[4]
2004–2005 Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru) Antonio García Ángel (Colombia)
2006–2007 Tahar Ben Jelloun (Morocco) Edem Awumey (Togo)
2008–2009 Wole Soyinka (Nigeria) Tara June Winch (Australia)
2010–2011 Hans Magnus Enzensberger (Germany) Tracy K. Smith (United States)
2012–2013 Margaret Atwood (Canada) Naomi Alderman (United Kingdom)
2014–2015 Michael Ondaatje (Canada) Miroslav Penkov (Bulgaria)
2016–2017 Mia Couto (Mozambique) Julián Fuks (Brazil / Argentina)
2018–2019 Colm Tóibín (Ireland) Colin Barrett (Ireland / Canada)
2023–2024 Bernardine Evaristo (Great Britain) Ayesha Harruna Attah (Ghana / Senegal)

Music

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  Mentor Protégé
2002–2003 Colin Davis (United Kingdom) Josep Caballé-Domenech (Spain)
2004–2005 Jessye Norman (United States) Susan Platts (Canada)
2006–2007 Pinchas Zukerman (Israel) David Aaron Carpenter (United States)
2008–2009 Youssou N’Dour (Senegal) Aurelio Martínez (Honduras)
2010–2011 Brian Eno (United Kingdom) Ben Frost (Australia)[4]
2012–2013 Gilberto Gil (Brazil) Dina El Wedidi (Egypt)
2014–2015 Kaija Saariaho (Finland) Vasco Mendonça (Portugal)
2016–2017 Philip Glass (United States) Pauchi Sasaki (Peru)
2018–2019 Zakir Hussain (India) Marcus Gilmore (United States)
2023–2024 Dianne Reeves (United States) Song Yi Jeon (South Korea)

Theatre

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  Mentor Protégé
2002–2003 Robert Wilson (United States) Federico León (Argentina)
2004–2005 Peter Hall (United Kingdom) Lara Foot (South Africa)
2006–2007 Julie Taymor (United States) Selina Cartmell (United Kingdom)
2008–2009 Kate Valk (United States) Nahuel Pérez Biscayart (Argentina)
2010–2011 Peter Sellars (United States) Maya Zbib (Lebanon)
2012–2013 The late Patrice Chéreau (France) Michał Borczuch [de; pl] (Poland)
2014–2015 Jennifer Tipton (United States) Sebastián Solórzano Rodríguez (Mexico)
2016–2017 Robert Lepage (Canada) Matías Umpierrez (Argentina / Spain)
2020–2022 Phyllida Lloyd (Great Britain) Whitney White (United States)

Visual arts

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  Mentor Protégé
2002–2003 Álvaro Siza (Portugal) Sahel Al Hiyari (Jordan)
2004–2005 David Hockney (United Kingdom) Matthias Weischer (Germany)
2006–2007 John Baldessari (United States) Alejandro Cesarco (Uruguay)
2008–2009 Rebecca Horn (Germany) Masanori Handa (Japan)
2010–2011 Anish Kapoor (United Kingdom) Nicholas Hlobo (South Africa)
2012–2013 William Kentridge (South Africa) Mateo López (Colombia)
2014–2015 Olafur Eliasson (Denmark/Iceland) Sammy Baloji (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
2016–2017 Joan Jonas (United States) Thao-Nguyen Phan (Vietnam)
2020–2022 Carrie Mae Weems (United States) Camila Rodríguez Triana (Columbia)
2023–2024 El Anatsui (Ghana) Bronwyn Katz (South Africa)

Open category

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  Mentor Protégé
2020–2022 Lin-Manuel Miranda (United States) Agustina San Martín (Argentina)[5]

References

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  1. ^ Carol Besler (20 September 2022). "Artists Share Creative Legacies in Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative". Forbes. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  2. ^ "About the Rolex Arts Initiative". rolex.org.
  3. ^ Roslyn Sulcas (9 September 2022). "Mentors Named for Next Class in Rolex Arts Initiative". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d David Meagher (2 December 2022). "Celebrated mentors nurture next generation of artists". The Australian. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Lin-Manuel Miranda & Agustina San Martín". rolex.org. September 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
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