William Kentridge and Mona Hatoum win the Praemium Imperiale

Artists William Kentridge (South Africa, 1955) and Mona Hatoum (Lebanon, 1952) have been awarded the Praemium Imperiale in the categories of painting and sculpture respectively. This award recognizes the artistic trajectory and achievements of both creators with a prize of $138,500 each. The international arts prize established in memory of His Imperial Highness Prince Takamatsu, was established in 1988 by the Imperial family of Japan on behalf of the Japanese Art Association in the fields of painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and theater/film. It is one of the most important and monetarily significant prizes in the art world. The other 2019 winners are: Tod Williams and Billie Tsien in architecture; Anne-Sophie Mutter in music, and Bando Tamasaburo in theater/film. Laureates in previous editions and in different fields include Shirin Neshat, Roberto Matta, Mario Merz, Oscar Niemeyer, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Plácido Domingo, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Catherine Deneuve, and Akira Kurosawa, among others.