Zürcher Kantonalbank patronage prize 2013

Today on the occasion of the Zürcher Theater Spektakel 2013, the Zürcher Kantonalbank Patronage Prize and the Zücher Kantonalbank Acknowledgment Prize were awarded by Corine Mauch, Mayor of Zurich, and Dr. Jànos Blum, presidium member of the Zürcher Kantonalbank. Following intensive discussions, the jury reached a unanimous decision: The Zürcher Kantonalbank  Patronage Prize of 30 000 Swiss Francs goes to the Argentinian actor, dancer, performer, director and choreographer Luis Biasotto for his «Dadaistic» production «Africa», a revue defying all theatrical conventions and challenging the audience in an intelligent and comical way «to ponder on alleged certainties».

The Zürcher Kantonalbank Acknowledgment Prize of 5000 Swiss Francs goes to the Philippine performer and dancer Eisa Jocson for her solo «Macho Dancer», a work  with «rigorous concept and excellent execution», in which she investigates the «boundaries between legitimized live performance and seduction as popular and public entertainment».

During the run-up to the 1996 festival, Markus Luchsinger, artistic director of the festival from 1990 to 2001, who passed away untimely last summer, approached the Zürcher Kantonalbank, one of the festival’s main sponsors, with the idea of a patronage prize. He wasn’t thinking of an award for lifetime achievement or special accomplishment. Instead he had focused on recognition of a young, innovative, hitherto little-known individual or company. A substantial prize would be awarded annually at the festival. This would represent a significant financial contribution towards future productions involving the prize-winner. Briefly, it was to be a prize with long-term effects.

Markus Luchsinger’s proposal resonated ideally with the ZKB’s idea of sustainable cultural commitment. The criteria for nomination, the jury board and the award ceremony were discussed fruitfully with the result that the ZKB Patronage Prize of 20 000 Swiss Francs (today 30 000 Swiss Francs) was awarded that very year at the festival.

Today we look back with joy, gratefulness and pride. There is continuity: A long-term cultural commitment such as the ZKB Patronage Prize is not to be taken for granted: it enables the festival board to develop a perspective for the promotion of young talent in a way that reaches beyond the annual festival itself. In addition there is sustainability: The list of former prize-winners confirms that the prize has fulfilled its purpose: Stefan Pucher, 400asa, Marco Berrettini, Sarah Michelson, The Living Dance Studio, Young Jean Lee, have all triumphed with their subsequent artistic creations and have justified the faith invested in them. Festival audiences were equally given an opportunity to see that the original productions were not a flash in the pan as the majority of prizewinners returned to the festival with new productions.

And finally there is the impact: The Patronage Prize has added profile to the festival program as the denotation «nominated for the ZKB Patronage Prize» has become synonymous with riveting productions of promising young artists. In this spirit, the ZKB and the festival board invite you to give the nominees of the ZKB Patronage Prize your special attention. They deserve it. (esc)

ZKB Patronage Prize CHF 30,000

The Patronage Prize of the Zürcher Kantonalbank is awarded annually to an artist or a company working in independent theatre, dance theatre or performance art, who have distinguished themselves and shown innovation in the creation of new work. The aim of this prize is to support the chosen recipient in their future projects. The criteria for candidates is that the significant work for which the award is actually given has had its premiere within the past two years. The festival board nominates five to seven productions from the festival’s current programme. Precedence is given to artists who the board feel have yet to receive a level of public recognition that is commensurate with their achievements. Former winners of the prize are excluded from nomination.

ZKB Acknowledgement Prize CHF 5,000

The Acknowledgment Prize allows for additional recognition and support of a nominee whose work is considered to be outstanding. It is awarded to a company or an artist for extraordinary achievement in such areas as choreography, dramaturgy, audience participation or acting. Unlike standard procedures, all productions presented in «Short Pieces» are nominated for the ZKB Acknowledgment Prize this year, unless the artists have not previously won either the Patronage or the Acknowledgment Prize.

Ntando Cele CAPE TOWN
Born 1980. The South African performance artist and slam poet is multi-disciplinary in her approach and has realized various dance, theatre and slam-poetry projects. In 2010, she appeared at the festival with her performance «Cypher Session». She has just finished her Master of Theatre at the DasArts faculty of the Amsterdam School of the Arts and is touring Europe with her solo «Face off», shown as part of Short Pieces at the 2012 festival.

Cynthia Edul BUENOS AIRES
Born 1979. The playwright and director studied literature at the University of Buenos Aires. She has published several plays and has been co-director of Panorama Sur, an international platform for the performing arts in Latin America since 2010. In 2012, she published her first novel «La sucesión» and two of her plays, «The excursion» and «Where do broken hearts go?», premiered in Buenos Aires.

Lorenz Langenegger ZURICH | VIENNA
Born 1980. The author wrote his first works for the theatre while studying theatre and politics at the University of Bern. Since 2004, he has been commissioned to write for various theatres such as the Nationaltheater Mannheim and the Schauspielhaus Zürich. In 2009, his novel «Hier im Regen» was published. He has won various prizes for his plays, such as the Schaubühne Berlin’s playwright competition for «Rakows Dom».

Martin Schick BERLIN
Born 1978. After graduating from a private ballet school, the Swiss-born performer and choreographer studied theatre at the Bern University of the Arts. Since 2007, he has produced his own plays, exhibitions, interdisciplinary projects and workshops. For the performance «Title» he and the Argentinian performer Laura Kalauz received the Zürcher Kantonalbank Patronage Prize 2009.

Louise Tu’u AUCKLAND
Born 1978. The Samoan author, actress, director and curator has won various prizes for her theatre and cultural work. In 2013, her best-known play «Horses and other animals» was presented at the Auckland Fringe Festival. Besides her artistic work, Tu'u teaches at various art colleges and is the director of We Should Practice, a platform and production site for performance, film and public art.