MENTORSHIP YIELDS! El Anatsui Leads New Class Of Rolex Mentors
By Oyiza Adaba | Africa-Related New York
Photo: El Anatsui & Bronwyn Katz at his Tema, Ghana Studio. By Tomas Bertelsen/Rolex
Every two years since 2002, Rolex - the Swiss luxury watchmaker has paired artists and protégés in an exclusive programme called The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative.
The programme seeks out gifted young artists from all over the world and brings them together with artistic masters for a six-week period, to build a one-to-one mentoring relationship where the protégé is granted access to a master at work, or sometimes collaborate on a work.
"The programme has evolved into an enriching dialogue between artists of different generations, cultures and disciplines"
- ROLEX
Past pairings in dance, film, literature, music, theatre, visual arts, architecture and an open category covering interdisciplinary pursuits, have brought together the likes of filmmaker Spike Lee with Kyle Bell, and Architect David Adjaye with Mariam Kamara. Read their stories below.
The new 2022 class, announced on September 9th at The Brooklyn Academy of Music NY, includes renowned Ghanaian sculptor and visual artist El Anatsui, who has had mentorship at the core of his over 6-decade career, guiding Bronwyn Katz - a South African sculptor and visual artist. Anatsui is joined by other notable names like the American jazz singer Dianne Reeves, Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke, British writer Bernardine Evaristo and the French architect Anne Lacaton.
PHOTO: ROLEX
Rolex’s vision to revitalize mentorship in the arts and support individual excellence, reflects not only in their selection of both Master and Protégés, but in also the past and future yields of this programme.
Have you given any thought to mentorship lately? The notion of imparting and sponging knowledge is powerful in of itself. Giver or receiver, it can be a life-changing experience.
Past Mentor and Protégé Parings
Film: Spike Lee & Kyle Bell - Rolex Mentor and Protégé Relating to the experience of Native Americans in his country, Spike Lee chose to mentor Kyle Bell...
Architecture: David Adjaye & Mariam Kamara A visit to Mariam Kamara’s native Niger was the turning point in the relationship between her and...
Visual Arts: Artists in wonderland Year after year, Anish Kapoor, one of the world’s most famous living artists, astonishes the international...
Open Category: Lin-Manuel Miranda & Agustina San Martín Lin-Manuel Miranda and his protégée Agustina San Martín met while he was making his film directorial debut...
Music: Zakir Hussain & Marcus Gilmore “I see him as a bit of a sage. He’s like a kind of Yoda, he really is,” says Marcus Gilmore talking of his ...
Dance: Crystal Pite & Khoudia Touré “If I had to find one word to sum up the last two years, it would be ‘transformation’,” says Khoudia ...