25th MONTBLANC de la Culture Arts Patronage Awards winners announced
Montblanc honours modern day patrons of the arts in 16 countries and celebrates nearly 4 million Euros donated to arts projects over the past 25 years. Every year since, the prestigious Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award has recognized the outstanding achievements and important contributions of modern day patrons, reinforcing today’s importance of patronage in making arts and culture accessible to broader audiences.
“When the award was created, it surprised many with its unusual focus on those working behind-the-scenes and contributing their resources to the arts,” explains Jens Henning Koch, Board Member of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation. “Twenty-five years later, this unique award has gained an undisputed reputation and appreciation and has grown to 16 countries, highlighting our shared responsibility to preserve and advance the culture of mankind by giving modern-day patrons the recognition they deserve for their invaluable contribution, and inspiring a new generation of philanthropists to come forward.”
On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, sixteen patrons from around the world join a notable list of past winners that includes HRH The Prince of Wales, British maestro Sir Simon Rattle, Italian architect Renzo Piano and Japanese artist Yoko Ono. The 25th Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award is being presented to patrons in China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, and for the first time in Brazil, Colombia and Greece. This year, the jury is made up of 44 members emanating from all countries participating in the award. Each member of the jury is invited to vote for the nominees in every country including their own.
At Montblanc de la Culture events hosted in each country, the winners are presented with the Patron of Art Limited Edition 4810 featuring a personalized nib engraving. The pen is set inside a trophy specially designed for the 25th Anniversary, forming a metallic structure with a pair of geometric wings mirroring the modernist design of the limited edition and a large disc engraved with the seal of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation. Each winner is awarded 15,000 Euros to benefit the arts organization or the project of his or her choice. Over the years, nearly 4 million Euros have been awarded and 230 projects supported as a result of the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award.
The Winners of the 2016 Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Awards are Laís Bodanzky & Mr Luiz Bolognesi (Brazil), both award-winning screenwriters and filmmakers; Xu Zhen (China), an artist, art promoter and curator based in Shanghai; Claudia Hakim (Colombia) who has supported the development of visual arts in Colombia and Latin America; Louis Roederer Foundation (France); art patron Andrea von Goetz und Schwanenfließ (Germany); the B&M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts & Music (Greece); filmmaker Johnnie To (Hong Kong); Giorgio Marconi (Italy), the founder of the historic Studio Marconi in Milan; Ryuichi Sakamoto (Japan) is a recipient of the Award in recognition for his numerous projects supporting young artists in the field of music and performing arts; Sang-Duck Yoo (Korea), a promoter of contemporary art to the Korean public; Soumaya Slim (Mexico), a social entrepreneur and philanthropist; Leonid Mikhelson (Russia), a patron of Russian art: Elena Ochoa Foster (Spain), a patron of the arts and the creation of Ivorypress publishing house; Henry Levy (Switzerland) is the recipient of the Award for the creation of BINZ39, a foundation that has been promoting young artists in Zürich; Sir John CBE and Lady Sorrell (United Kingdom) of The Sorrell Foundation; and Maria Arena Bell (USA), a philanthropist and an art patron
