Wednesday, 12 November 2014
John Studzinski – Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation – today awarded the Prince of Wales Medal for Arts Philanthropy
“Success for young artists lies in nature, nurture – and networks”
Studzinski becomes first person to receive both Prince of Wales Medal for Arts Philanthropy and the Prince of Wales Ambassador Award
John Studzinski CBE, Founder & Chairman of the Genesis Foundation and Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Blackstone Advisory Partners LP today receives the highly-coveted Prince of Wales Medal for Arts Philanthropy from His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales at St James’s Palace. Studzinski has been a driving force in arts patronage in the UK for over two decades, both as an individual donor and through the Genesis Foundation, which he founded in 2001.
To date, the Genesis Foundation has devoted over £10 million to opening opportunities to exceptional young artists from diverse backgrounds, setting them firmly on the path to fulfilling their creative and professional potential, and ultimately invigorating theatre, music and the visual arts in the UK. The Foundation works through partner programmes with prestigious organisations in the fields of theatre, music and the visual arts – notably LAMDA, the Royal Court, The Sixteen, the Young Vic and Welsh National Opera. The programmes enable these organisations to nurture outstanding young artists, developing their talents and giving them access to influential mentors and valuable networks.
Studzinski, who as an individual major donor supports such organisations as the Tate and is also chairman of Create London, becomes the first person to receive both the Prince of Wales Medal for Arts Philanthropy and the Prince of Wales Ambassador Award, which in 2000 recognised his philanthropic work with the homeless. In 2008 he was awarded the Beacon Prize for Philanthopy and was named in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List as a Commander of the British Empire for services to the Arts and Charity.
John Studzinski commented:
“There is no question that philanthropy is absolutely key to the long-term vigour and stability of the arts in the UK. But there is more to philanthropy than simply donating money. The arts are a living thing – they are about collaboration and community, which means that success for young artists lies not just in nature and nurture, but in networks too. The Genesis Foundation is unique in bringing exceptional young artists into a family network of support that stands to serve them throughout their professional career.
“Since 2001, over 2,000 artists from diverse backgrounds and cultures have become part of the Genesis Foundation’s networks and the number continues to grow. It is greatly honouring to achieve recognition for the Genesis Foundation’s model with this award from His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and I hope that a younger generation of philanthropists will be inspired by the ethos of the Foundation and by the success of the artists it has helped to nurture.”
His Royal Highness, together with Arts & Business, has presented the Medal for Arts Philanthropy annually since 2008. Initial selection was made by The Prince of Wales’ ‘Arts Cluster Group’ who drew up a short list of 10 arts philanthropists. The final judging panel which selected this year’s five winners included Sir Ronald Harwood, Dame Monica Mason and Colin Tweedy OBE; the Arts Cluster Group included Hilary Boulding Principal, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; Sir Tony Hall Managing Director, BBC and Alan Davey, Chief Executive, Arts Council England.
The other medals were awarded to Dr Terry Bramall CBE & Mrs Elizabeth Bramall; Sir Harry Djanogly CBE & Lady Djanogly; Lady Sainsbury of Turville CBE and Lyn Shears and the late Trevor Shears CBE. Previous recipients of the medal have included Lady Bernstein, Lord Rothschild, Sir Terence Conran, Lord Wolfson, Michael and Dorothy Hintze, Dame Vivien Duffield and Dame Theresa Sackler.
The Genesis Foundation is a UK-based charitable foundation established by John Studzinski in 2001. Through its partner programmes, the Foundation enables prestigious, progressive organisations in the fields of theatre, music and visual arts to nurture the careers of outstanding young artists, developing their talents and giving them access to influential mentors and valuable networks. The Genesis Foundation runs dedicated programmes with the Royal Court, The Sixteen, Welsh National Opera and the Young Vic, and supports graduate and post-graduate training programmes at LAMDA and the Royal College of Art, as well as commissioning new works.
http://artsandbusiness.bitc.org.uk/awards-ab/prince-of-wales-medal-for-arts-philanthropy
For more information and press images on the day, please contact George Chambers at Albion Media: george@albion-media.com / 020 3077 4942