20 YEARS OF MENTORING THE GREAT ARTISTS OF TOMORROW
F or more than half a century, Rolex has partnered with some of the world’s most talented artists and leading cultural institutions to celebrate excellence and contribute to perpetuating artistic heritage, creating a link between the past, present, and future. Through the Rolex Perpetual Arts Initiative, a broad portfolio of arts that extends through music, architecture, cinema, and the Rolex mentoring program, the brand confirms its long-term commitment to global culture.
The mentoring experience can provide the opportunity for a thrilling collaboration.
The mentoring program was launched in 2002, with a noble aim: to ensure that the world’s artistic heritage is passed on from one generation to another in a manner that transcends boundaries of nations, cultures, disciplines, and generations. It revived the traditional idea of mentorship, a natural approach coming from a watchmaking company with a long-established system of apprenticeship. At a key moment in their professional lives, as they stand on the brink of recognition, young artists are invited by Rolex to be mentored by great visionaries in their respective fields — artists they might never have hoped to meet, let alone enjoy their guidance. AHEAD OF ITS TIME Rolex was ahead of its time with its vision of a program that was set up to be inclusive and that brought so many art forms — visual arts, dance, theatre, music, literature, film, and architecture — together under one umbrella. It was unique among corporate arts programs in both scope and scale. Twenty years later, the program demonstrates astonishing impact. How many programs have such a huge community of artists and arts administrators that stretches across the world? Since 2002, 1,350 people from 120 countries have been nominated for the program, and hundreds of major artists or influential figures in the arts have nominated young artists or served as advisors. To date, 63 mentors have chosen 63 protégés from 41 countries. Rolex considers the development of this global creative community to be one of the greatest achievements of the program.
Celebrated director Martin Scorsese, mentor in film in 2008–2009, invited his protégée Celina Murga to visit the set of his film Shutter Island .
26 FREDRIC H. RUBEL MAGAZINE
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