The 3rd annual Today Art Award was officially launched in March 2012. This award is organized by the Today Art Museum together with Oriental Art – Masters magazine, and exclusively title sponsored by Credit Suisse. Launched in 2010, this was the first contemporary art award dedicated to Chinese artists around the world and presented by an art museum in China. The goal of the award is to raise public awareness and interest in Chinese contemporary art, as well as to honor outstanding artists for their passion for creativity, the courage to challenge traditions, and the ability to inspire and enlighten the visual art community.
As the first privately owned, non-profit art museum, Today Art Museum provides an excellent platform for artists and their creative works. Oriental Art – Masters is a magazine that aims to report on the latest trends in modern art style, which the Today Art Award has come to represent in the contemporary Chinese art scene. Credit Suisse is a partner of many outstanding institutions and young talents in the areas of classical music and fine arts. Today Art Museum has partnered with Credit Suisse since 2001 and the Bank became the exclusive title sponsor of Today Art Award in 2010
This year, Today Art Award celebrates its third birthday. As usual, the judging committee consists of the most active exhibition planners, critics, directors of art organizations and scholars in the field of Chinese contemporary art. Through the recommendation of a 20-member professional committee, a number of candidates will emerge by the end of May. From June to July, the judging committee will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of each finalist based on 5 criteria – creativity, intellectual skill, utilization of materials, individuality of artistic language and cultural perseverance. The 3rd annual Today Art Award is honored to have Hanru Hou, international curator and critic, as the Chairman of the judging committee once again in 2012. Other internationally acclaimed experts in the committee include Qing Zhang, Director of Curating and Research Department of National Art Museum of China, Thomas Rose, art professor of Minnesota University, Du Huang, independent exhibition planner, André Rogger, Art Collection Director from Credit Suisse, and Zikang Zhang, exhibition planner of Today Art Museum. Finally, the winner of the 3rd annual Today Art Award will be selected from 6 finalists.
Looking at the winners in previous years, the ensemble of Yuan Sun and Yu Peng in 2010 exceeded the decoration of conventional art with an aggressive critical attitude and a reflective mindset. Their works were revolutionary and even in some sense aggressive. The team broke with conventional display in exhibitions and truly distinguished themselves from their peers. In 2011, the judges praised the winner Jianwei Wang and his cross-over philosophy for demonstrating an “unique and complete system of artistic creation, as well as established power of space control and the great courage and charm in surpassing himself”. On top of a monetary award, this year’s winner will also feature in the Oriental Art – Masters magazine, and be given an opportunity to stage a solo exhibition in the Today Art Museum.
Contemporary art is primarily a reflection of modern society. For this form of art to thrive, it is necessary to unify the power of the art community and to conduct more innovative research to maximize its influence. Today Art Award encourages the communication between the public, art critics, curators, art institution managers and artists. The award not only wishes to showcase the resources and talents of contemporary art in China, it also works to establish the connection between art and the manifestation of cultural values and beliefs. This award not only serves as a goal and encouragement for talented artists, but also ignites the public’s interest in understanding and appreciating contemporary art.
The 3rd Today Art Award Finalists Exhibition will be held in November 2012.
Credit Suisse AG
Credit Suisse AG is one of the world's leading financial services providers and is part of the Credit Suisse group of companies (referred to here as 'Credit Suisse'). As an integrated bank, Credit Suisse offers clients its combined expertise in the areas of private banking, investment banking and asset management. Credit Suisse provides advisory services, comprehensive solutions and innovative products to companies, institutional clients and high-net-worth private clients globally, as well as to retail clients in Switzerland. Credit Suisse is headquartered in Zurich and operates in over 50 countries worldwide. The group employs approximately 48,700 people. The registered shares (CSGN) of Credit Suisse's parent company, Credit Suisse Group AG, are listed in Switzerland and, in the form of American Depositary Shares (CS), in New York. Further information about Credit Suisse can be found at www.credit-suisse.com.
