Few brands can field such a star-studded gathering of
the creative great and the good as Rolex, which recently
celebrated the end of the eighth cycle of its Mentor and
Protégé Arts Initiative with a weekend of events in Berlin.
The mentors, including Joan Jonas, David Chipperfield,
Philip Glass and Robert Lepage, mingled with the likes of
artist Anish Kapoor, novelist Colm Tóibín and opera singer
Barbara Hendricks, in venues ranging from Daniel Barenboim’s
Staatsoper to the Gemäldegalerie, culminating in a
dinner for 550 in the neoclassical Konzerthaus. The Mentor
programme, which was set up in 2002, pairs rising stars
in different creative disciplines with masters in their fields.
Though the initiative is aimed at helping young artists
further develop their potential, in practice the learning
process often appears to work in both directions. Film director
Alfonso Cuarón seemed to be only half-joking when he
said of his Indian protégé Chaitanya Tamhane, ‘Chaitanya
is a magician, and I think I might be still under his spell.’
Master class
Mutual beneits in the Rolex Mentor and Protégé programme
PHOTOGRAPHY: BRIGITTE LACOMBE WRITER: CHRISTOPHER STOCKSIntelligence