Genesis Prize media coverage

Wednesday, 28 March 2012

The Genesis Prize has sparked widespread press and social media coverage, following the announcement of the six nominees, and Hamish Dunbar of Café Oto as winner of the inaugural prize.

Writing in his column in The Sunday Times, Richard Brooks commented,

“The Booker, the Turner and the Orange are, I hear, about to be joined by a significant new prize: the Genesis. Worth £25,00 to the winner, the award will go to an outstanding mentor of burgeoning artistic talent…. [Studzinski] set up his Genesis Foundation in 2001 to nurture emerging cultural creativity. This prize takes that a step further by recognising those often unsung heroes who nurture.”

Read the full column here.

Louise Jury, the Evening Standard’s Arts Correspondent, interviewed John Studzinski about the shortlist. He said

“London has probably the highest concentration in the world of artistic talent and potential in one concentrated geographical area. But it has the potential to be an even more powerful crucible.”

Read full article here.

Following the winner announcement, Farah Nayeri of Bloomberg interviewed John Studzinski:

“It’s sort of a venture capital of mentoring,”

Studzinski said of his new art prize.

“By funding other organizations or other individuals that are mentors, you’re providing awareness, getting organizations to focus on how important it is.”

Read the full article here.

Hamish Dunbar’s win has been celebrated by the wider music industry online, with Gramophone Magazine among the titles covering the news. Sebastian Scotney, who blogs for London Jazz, congratulated the Café Oto founder, while Sound and Music and Wire Magazine spread the good news via Twitter.

Join the Genesis Foundation on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube to join in the conversation.