Japan Art Association Names 2012 Praemium Imperiale Laureates

American Composer Philip Glass and Acclaimed Chinese Artist Cai Guo-Qiang Among Winners of Prestigious Art Prize

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 2012 winners of the prestigious Praemium Imperiale arts awards, announced today by the Japan Art Association at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, include renowned American composer Philip Glass, who is celebrating his 75^th birthday year, and groundbreaking Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang, the first Chinese national Laureate. Carrying prizes of 15 million yen (approximately $187,000) each, the awards recognize lifetime achievement in the arts in categories not covered by the Nobel Prizes.

“Since their creation in 1988, the Praemium Imperiale awards have grown in prestige celebrating the significance of the arts in all of our lives. We are honored to recognize the 2012 Laureates for commitment to excellence and their contributions to the thriving global arts community.”

The Praemium Imperiale Laureates for 2012, the prize’s 24^th anniversary, are:

Cai Guo-Qiang	Painting	China
Cecco Bonanotte	Sculpture	Italy
Henning Larsen	Architecture	Denmark
Philip Glass	Music	USA
Yoko Morishita	Theatre/Film	Japan

The Japan Art Association also named The Sphinx Organization, based in Detroit, MI as the recipient of its annual Grant for Young Artists award. They will receive an award of 5 million yen (approximately $63,000) for encouraging the development of young Black and Latin American classical musicians.

Praemium Imperiale candidates are nominated by a distinguished panel of International Advisors and selected by the Japan Art Association. Hisashi Hieda, chairman of the Japan Art Association, and American International Advisor William H. Luers were joined by honored guests, Laureates Philip Glass and Cai Guo-Qiang as well as Aaron Dworkin, Founder and President of The Sphinx Organization, at the awards announcement at the Museum of Modern. Art. Mr. Luers said, “Since their creation in 1988, the Praemium Imperiale awards have grown in prestige celebrating the significance of the arts in all of our lives. We are honored to recognize the 2012 Laureates for commitment to excellence and their contributions to the thriving global arts community.”

Other International Advisors include Lamberto Dini(Italy), François Pinault(France), Christopher Patten(UK), Klaus-Dieter Lehmann(Germany) and Yasuhiro Nakasone(Japan). Honorary Advisors are David Rockefeller, Jr., Jacques Chirac, David Rockefeller, Helmut Schmidt, and Richard von Weizsäcker.

The Praemium Imperiale was created in 1988 to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the Japan Art Association and to honor the late Prince Takamatsu, who served as the association’s honorary patron for 58 years.

For more information on the Praemium Imperiale, including biographies of current and past winners, visit www.praemiumimperiale.org/.