TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warehouse TERRADA was announced as a winner in Japan of “The 27th Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award” presented by the Montblanc Cultural Foundation, and the award ceremony was held on August 8th (Wed.). The award has recognized individuals or organizations that have been developing young talent in the field of culture and art, or supporting artists and their activities. Previous winners include the Prince of Wales; conductor Sir Simon Rattle; fashion designer Agnès B; architect Renzo Piano; Yoko Ono; Kabuki actor Enoh Ichikawa; conductor Seiji Ozawa, and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. The award to Warehouse TERRADA is the first time it has been given to a Japanese company. Encouraged by this award, Warehouse TERRADA will continue to support artistic and cultural activities which should be passed on to the future generations. Also, to commemorate the receipt of the award, we established the MONTBLANC & TERRADA Foundation, a general incorporated foundation, and launched art project initiatives to support children fighting intractable diseases.
[The Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award]
Montblanc,
founded in Switzerland in 1906, has been producing traditional items
that are improved by new functionality and innovative designs such as
its signature fountain pen. Until now, its product lines have spread to
watches, leather goods, accessories, fragrances, eyewear, and more, and
Montblanc continues to polish its flawless craftsmanship. The company,
with its deeply rooted tradition in writing culture, has been supporting
art and cultural activities since its foundation. Among these
activities, “The Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award” has been
renowned as a unique award for more than a quarter-century since it
appreciates not the artists but rather the people supporting artists
behind the scenes. The winners are selected from each of 17 countries
and regions, and it was the first time that a company was selected as a
Japanese winner.
The winners of each country and region receive a
Montblanc special Limited Edition fountain pen of the PATRON OF ART
series, which is produced only for the award winners. PATRON OF ART is a
collection which has been issued in tribute to the great patrons in
history every year since the launch of the award in 1992. Previous
collections are tributes to Lorenzo de Medici, Marquise de Pompadour,
and Catherine the Great, and the 2018 version was inspired by Ludwig II,
the king of Bavaria who is known as a patron of Richard Wagner. The rare
special version is produced only for the annual winners and the
collection of Montblanc Museum, Hamburg.
2018 Nominators
(Recommenders) in Japan:
Hiroshi Takahashi, President of Visual
Design Studio WOW; Tomio Koyama, Gallerist; Chiharu Shiota, Artist
[Reasons why Warehouse TERRADA was selected for the award]
Warehouse
TERRADA’s dynamism as a new type of art patronage including Tennoz area
revitalization
In Japanese modern art scene, a number of
dynamic activities by Warehouse TERRADA have been signaling a new form
of the role of art patrons. Its CEO, Mr. Yoshihisa Nakano is not only an
art collector himself but also a savior for artists and art patrons. The
event spaces of Warehouse TERRADA take advantage of their warehouse
characteristics and have developed a reputation as the hottest spots for
art related events and exhibitions, and in 2017 the “DAVID BOWIE is…”
retrospective exhibition was held in one of these event spaces. The
Tennoz area was reborn as a key art site under the leadership of Mr.
Nakano, whose many activities include organizing art awards to support
young artists, operating rental art studios and an art materials lab
that offers a panoply of rare and superior quality materials, and
offering one-stop art-related services such as transportation,
exhibition, storage, restoration and others. In addition, last October,
Warehouse TERRADA released GVIDO, the digital music score device which
will revolutionize the lifestyles of musicians all over the world. It is
the first time in Japan that this award has been given to a company. The
passion, exquisite taste, and foresight of one person have been
significantly enhanced through the activities of this company and
brought to fruition with great effect, which is now deserving of praise.
(Quote from an official comment by the Montblanc Cultural Foundation)
[About Warehouse TERRADA]
Company Name: Warehouse TERRADA
Representative:
CEO, Yoshihisa Nakano
Address: 2-6-10 Higashi-Shinagawa,
Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0002, Japan
Foundation: October 1950
URL:
http://www.terrada.co.jp/