The Japan Art Association has announced the five winners of the Praemium Imperiale awards 2023: Vija Celmins in painting, Olafur Eliasson for sculpture, Diébédo Francis Kéré (architecture), Wynton Marsalis in music and Robert Wilson for the theatre/film prize.
The awards, given by the Japan Art Association under the honorary patronage of HIH Prince Hitachi, younger brother of the Emperor Emeritus of Japan, are accompanied by an honorarium of 15 million Yen (c. £90,000). There is also a grant of 5 million Yen for young artists, which was given Rural Studios, led by British architect Andrew Freear, in Newbern, Alabama.
The Praemium Imperiale Awards, given first in 1989, recognise achievements in candidates whose impact reaches beyond their national boundaries. Previous winners in painting included David Hockney, Yayoi Kusama, Shirin Neshat and Cy Twombly. In sculpture: El Anatsui, Louise Bourgeois, Rebecca Horn and Ai Weiwei. Frank Gehry and Kenzo Tange are among the architecture laureates, Plácido Domingo and Steve Reich in music and Merce Cunningham and Martin Scorsese in the theatre/film prize.
