18 Finalists Selected for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative

Following a worldwide search for the most outstanding young talents in six artistic disciplines, Rolex today announced the finalists of the fifth cycle of its international arts programme, the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative.

Chosen from among 120 nominees around the globe, the 18 finalists - 10 men and eight women with an average age of 32 from 15 countries - are currently being interviewed by the Mentors, each of whom will select one of them as a Protégé for 12 months of one-to-one collaboration in their respective discipline.

The six Protégés for 2010-2011 will be announced in June.

"All of the finalists are highly gifted and committed, with the potential to become major artists," said Rebecca Irvin, director of philanthropy at Rolex. "Even though only six of them will become Protégés, we will watch all of them with great interest in the years ahead. We are confident that all will make their mark artistically."

The 18 finalists are:

Dance - (Mentor Trisha Brown, United States): Mr Lee Serle (Australia, 27), Ms Katarzyna Sitarz (Poland, 24) and Mr Bruce Wong (Hong Kong, China, 31);

Film - (Mentor Zhang Yimou, China): Ms Annemarie Jacir (United States-Jordan, of Palestinian origin, 36) and Ms Nadejda Koseva (Bulgaria, 35);

Literature - (Mentor Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Germany): Mr Luke Kennard (United Kingdom, 28), Mr Dinaw Mengestu (Ethiopian, living in France, 31) and Ms Tracy K. Smith (United States, 37);

Music - (Mentor Brian Eno, United Kingdom): Mr Jace Clayton (United States, 34), Mr Ben Frost (Australian, living in Iceland, 29) and Mr Federico Simón Mejia (Colombia, 32);

Theatre - (Mentor Peter Sellars, United States): Ms Natalie Hennedige (Singapore, 35), Ms Monthatip Suksopha (Thailand, 36) and Ms Maya Zbib (Lebanon, 28);

Visual Arts - (Mentor Anish Kapoor, United Kingdom): Ms Hemali Bhuta (India, 31), Mr Nicholas Hlobo (South Africa, 34), Mr Srinivasa Prasad (India, 35) and Mr Bright Ugochukwu Eke (Nigeria, 33).

Although only six young artists are chosen as Protégés, over the past eight years, many of the talented contenders have benefited from the contacts they have made during the selection process, as valuable opportunities to advance their careers are opened up to them.

In accordance with the initiative's painstaking search for the most likely candidates, independent, anonymous panels of arts professionals - one for each artistic discipline - scour the world and tap into their network of contacts to find and nominate potential protégés. Artists do not directly apply to the programme. This year, the 120 nominees came from 43 countries. There were 21 candidates in dance, 18 in film, 18 in literature, 22 in music, 21 in theatre and 20 in visual arts. Subsequently, each nominating panel meets to select the finalists who are then presented to the Mentors by Rolex staff.

Working with an interdisciplinary board of artistic advisors, Rolex organizes all aspects of the biennial Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative from its Geneva headquarters. Apart from the length of time they must work together (a minimum of 30 working days), no restrictions are placed on the Mentors and Protégés who are free to establish the most effective way of interacting during the 12-month mentoring period that, for this cycle, runs from June 2010 to June 2011. The Mentors have often reported that, like the Protégés, they too are inspired by the creative exchange. Martin Scorsese, film Mentor in 2008-2009, said of the mentor-protégé relationship: "The mentor gets as much inspiration as the protégé."

The extraordinary artists who have already taken part as Mentors are: John Baldessari, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Sir Colin Davis, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, William Forsythe, Stephen Frears, Sir Peter Hall, David Hockney, Rebecca Horn, Ji?í Kylián, Toni Morrison, Mira Nair, Youssou N'Dour, Jessye Norman, Martin Scorsese, Álvaro Siza, Wole Soyinka, Julie Taymor, Saburo Teshigawara, Kate Valk, Mario Vargas Llosa, Robert Wilson and Pinchas Zukerman. These creative masters form part of the growing community that is helping to foster artistic excellence worldwide under the auspices of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative.

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