The five winners of this year’s 2010 Praemium Imperiale arts awards, announced this month by the Japan Art Association in Tokyo, are pianist Maurizio Pollini, painter Enrico Castellani, sculptor Rebecca Horn, architect Toyo Ito, and actress Sophia Loren. The annual prize recognizes lifetime achievement in the arts; winners each receive a prize of 15 million yen (approximately $169,000). The Praemium Imperiale was created in 1988 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Japan Art Association and to honor Prince Takamatsu, who served as the association’s honorary patron for 58 years. Previous winners in the music category include Alfred Brendel, Zubin Mehta, Leonard Bernstein, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Ravi Shankar.
Photo by Philippe Gontier
Posted September 21, 2010
