Markers of time create shared time
for arts scene veterans and new talents
Research/Text: ART iT
2008-2009 Protégés (from left to right): Handa Masanori, Tara June Winch,
Jason Akira Somma, Nahuel Emiliano Perez Biscayart, Celina Murga, Aurelio Martínez
London 2008 ©Rolex/Hugo Glendinning
Since its founding in 1905, watchmaker Rolex has offered a model of innovative creativity, being the first to introduce many features we take for granted in watches, including waterproofing and the self-winding mechanism. Now the venerable Swiss company is pursuing yet another unique endeavor: an arts sponsorship program that once again makes it stand out from the crowd, facilitating new encounters between veteran artist ‘mentors’ and up-and-coming ‘protégés’ from around the world.
The Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative
Corporate support for the arts takes myriad forms, from awards bearing the sponsor’s brand name, to programs designed to foster new talent. In the case of Rolex – in keeping with the company’s own culture – this assistance is perhaps best described as something desired by all, but unavailable until now.
The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative (RMP) launched in 2002 is run over a two-year cycle, and targets artists around the world. Veterans (mentors) in six disciplines (visual arts, music, film, literature, dance, and theatre) are paired with promising young protégés, the aim being to foster close ties between experienced and up-and-coming arts practitioners. During the year of the pair’s partnership, the only stipulation is that they spend at least 30 days together. Relationships between mentor and protégé thus take many forms: a mentor may for example offer advice on a new novel penned by the protégé; a protégé may gain intimate access to a film shoot by their movie director mentor; or a pair may collaborate to produce a work of art. As well as paying the protégé’s travel expenses to help foster the mentor-protégé bond, plus $25,000 in scholarship funding, the RMP also looks at assisting with expenses should the protégé stage a performance or unveil new work at the end of their time in the program.
Among the fourth cohort of pairs announced in summer 2008, Handa Masanori was selected as a visual arts protégé, paired with mentor Rebecca Horn. Handa is the first Japanese national to take part in the initiative since Teshigawara Saburo was chosen as a dance mentor in 2002, and the first Japanese protégé. At the press conference, Horn explained her reason for choosing from the final three protégé candidates she interviewed an artist from the Far East.
“Somehow he was most original, even when we couldn’t talk so much to each other, but in visual arts sometimes it’s not so much about talking but feelings and energies, and when I saw his work…I understood everything I saw.”
At the beginning, when communications stalled due to Handa’s lack of familiarity with English, the pair conveyed their ideas to each other by drawing on sheets of paper. Handa described the mentality and aspirations behind the initiative:
“This farsighted project, which offers people mutual opportunities, may only touch on one small part of a world built on relationships, but it’s just wonderful to spend time with the knowledge and the fantastic individuals making up that world. Time that can’t be imagined truly does ‘unfold’, which makes me want to do things blindly, and clearly.”
Just the sort of answer one might expect from an artist known for installations at times elusive, yet which capture truth in the simplest of ways. Handa continues to work with Rebecca in Berlin.
Ties transcending generations and geography
A brief word here about the method used to select the participating artists. First the mentors are approached on the recommendation of an advisory board made up of prominent people in the arts. Potential protégés are screened first by anonymous selection panels consisting of experts in the relevant disciplines, with mentors making the final choice. A survey of previous participants suggests that gender and geographical balance are also taken into account. All participants are summoned to a press conference at the launch of each new cycle of the program, providing a venue for the meeting of talents from across a variety of genres.
For the fourth RMP, in addition to Horn, mentors include: in dance, Jiří Kylián, renowned for his work with the Nederlands Dans Theater; Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature; and Kate Valk of highly regarded American theater ensemble The Wooster Group – who together with all proteges attended the conference – as well as Martin Scorsese (film) and Youssou N’Dour (music). Once again the mentor contingent consists of outstanding international talents. Organizers say that more and more links with previous participants are being generated with each cycle.
RMP director Rebecca Irvin describes the connection between the program and the Rolex corporate philosophy:
“Since its foundation, Rolex has championed human endeavor in pursuit of excellence and well-being. In tangible terms this means a commitment to the highest standards of craftsmanship in watchmaking, but is a value reflected not only in our business, but also in the likes of our arts and sports sponsorships. The Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative mirrors and enhances our endeavors as a company. Over the last six years, in excess of 200 individuals from more than 40 countries have taken part in the initiative in one form or another, generating an amazing community of artists from around the world.”
Commitment to tradition and innovation
At the conclusion of each cycle, participants are invited to the Rolex head office in Geneva to discuss the past year. Generally this is followed by a gala party (scheduled this time for December 2009 at the Royal Opera House in London) to wind up the program, attended by participants plus guests from various sectors. Artists are under no obligation to present anything, but many do so here of their own volition, for example distributing publications showing works produced by collaborating mentors and protégés, or mounting exhibitions nearby.
“We do not demand specific outcomes of the artists,” continues director Irvin. “Sir Peter Hall, Theatre Mentor in the second cycle, has perhaps been most eloquent in expressing the advantage of this, saying ‘In the Rolex Arts Initiative, we’ve all been given an extraordinary freedom, and that’s dangerous. In ten years’ time there may be many, many Rolex artists – or there might be none. It doesn’t matter, because you can’t plan art, you can’t plan artists – all you can do is give them an opportunity, hold your breath and hope. And that’s what Rolex is doing.’ Some may think this is risk-taking, but at Rolex we believe that this is the best way to foster young artists.”
Rolex continues to support the arts by facilitating the exchange of ideas and expertise across generations, national and regional boundaries, and artistic domains: interestingly in a manner that seems to resonate with the craftsmanship of a company whose stock in trade is time, a commodity common to us all, albeit flowing in very individual ways. A reverence for things passed down and shared, and high hopes for things born out of cross-fertilization, remain integral to the Rolex philosophy.
Fourth cycle of the Arts Initiative: mentors and protégés in each discipline
Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative
http://www.rolexmentorprotege.com