20 YEARS OF MENTORING THE GREAT ARTISTS OF TOMORROW
REAL IMPACT But numbers and geography do not tell the whole story. The real impact is that many of the Rolex protégés have become artistic leaders in their own right. Tracy K. Smith, for example, who was mentored by German writer Hans Magnus Enzensberger in 2010–2011, received the United States’ greatest honor in poetry — being appointed Poet Laureate two years running. Smith, a writer and academic, has won a host of prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Lara Foot, a South African multi-award-winning playwright, director, and producer, was mentored in 2004– 2005 by the late theatre, opera and film director Sir Peter Hall. She is CEO and artistic director of Cape Town’s Baxter Theatre, to which she has succeeded in giving an international reputation through its travelling productions. Many cross-disciplinary collaborations have also sprung up among protégés, stimulated and challenged by their peers in different artistic areas. Rolex has created a special collaboration fund to encourage this cross-fertilization among former protégés, now called Rolex Arts Fellows. CALIBRE OF ARTISTS Another striking aspect of the program has been the extraordinary calibre of artists it has attracted to its mission. Brian Eno, Stephen Frears, David Hockney, Zakir Hussain, Robert Lepage, Mario Vargas Llosa, the late Toni Morrison, the late Jessye Norman, Crystal Pite, Julie Taymor, Kazuyo Sejima, and Sir David Chipperfield are just a few of the major artists who have generously given their time to take part. For mentors, the engagement goes further than pure altruism. The experience can provide the opportunity for a thrilling and challenging creative collaboration. For Martin Scorsese, film mentor in 2008–2009, “the mentor gets as much inspiration as the protégé.” David Hockney, who was visual arts mentor in 2004–2005, concurs: “I wouldn’t have considered taking part in the program if I didn’t expect to learn. Good teachers have always learned from their students.” Over 20 years, the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative has achieved respect and legitimacy in artistic circles for its distinctive and unique vision of mentoring — generous and global — that plays a tangible role in promoting excellence and the future of the arts. The program has helped exceptional younger talents reveal their full potential, encouraged dialogue across cultures and disciplines, and built a multigenerational artistic community around the globe.
29 FREDRIC H. RUBEL MAGAZINE
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