The Japan Art Association and Lord Patten of Barnes, Praemium Imperiale’s International Advisor in the UK, have announced the recipients of the 2024 Praemium Imperiale Awards: 

Music: Maria João PIRES (80, Portugal)

Architecture: Shigeru BAN (67, Japan)

Painting: Sophie CALLE (70, France)

Theatre/Film: Ang LEE (69, Taiwan)

Sculpture: Doris SALCEDO (65, Colombia)

Each Laureate receives an honorarium of 15 million Yen (c. £73,000). The awards are given by the Japan Art Association under the honorary patronage of HIH Prince Hitachi, younger brother of the Emperor Emeritus of Japan.

Awards’ mandate to select candidates who have made a major international impact in their particular field, as Lord Patten has remarked: ‘All five Laureates of the 2024 Praemium Imperiale awards have taken their land and people as inspiration to create works of profound poetry and impact. From Shigeru Ban and Doris Salcedo’s response to conflict and natural disaster to Ang Lee’s meditation on family and love, the Japan Art Association turns the spotlight on five hugely diverse artists whose humanity shines in times of uncertainty and turbulence.’

Maria João Pires has certainly made an impact on the world of classical music. Just listen to her mesmerising performance of Chopin’s Nocturne Op 27 No 2

Here are her thoughts on music and life:

On imagination:
‘We all have imagination, but many people are afraid of imagination because imagination also means change. We change every minute, every hour, every day. Our life is change. But we are afraid of change. And this fear keeps our imagination a little bit as a prisoner–like in prison. We have it but we don’t develop. We don’t allow ourselves to break. And it’s not only breaking the rules because breaking the rules is sometimes bad for others – so it’s not good for us either. Breaking the rules is not something 100%positive–it can be even very negative if it damages other people. But imagination, if it doesn’t damage anybody is always 100% positive because with imagination you find a real life, you find real source of inspiration. You find the real source of love-in the real sense.’ 

On composers:
‘Describing composers in words is something that reduces the power of the music, of the meaning of the piece. Because the words don’t explain exactly what the composer gives or what they transmit from the composer. So, for me Schubert transmits a lot of humble feelings, acceptation. And those things are for me important in my life.’

Since 1989, the Praemium Imperiale Awards have been given annually in the categories of Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Music and Theatre/Film; covering fields of achievement not represented by the Nobel Prizes. The Laureates are selected from a list submitted by six International Advisors to the Japan Art Association.  In order to maintain the Awards' mandate to select candidates who have made a major international impact in their particular field, the International Advisors for the Awards and their committees are committed to looking beyond their own national boundaries for ground-breaking artists to recommend to the Japan Art Association. Previous British winners include David Hockney, Mona Hatoum, Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley, Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, David Chipperfield, Judi Dench, Anthony Caro and Tony Cragg.

Main image:
At a concert in Casa da Musica in Porto, Portugal, May 2024
© Miguel Ângelo – Pereira-Fundação Casa daMúsica