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January 20, 2020
World Economic Forum Presents 2020 Crystal Awards
Photo: Hilde Schwab, Chairperson, and Co-Founder, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship; Cultural Leader and Jin Xing, Choreographer and Founder, Jin Xing Dance Theatre Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; Cultural Leader speaking in The 26th Annual Crystal Award Ceremony session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 20 January. Conference Center - Congress Hall. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/ Valeriano Di Domenico.
Photo: Hilde Schwab, Chairperson, and Co-Founder, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship; Cultural Leader and Deepika Padukone, Founder, Live Love Laugh Foundation, India; Cultural Leader speaking in The 26th Annual Crystal Award Ceremony session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 20 January. Conference Center - Congress Hall. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/ Valeriano Di Domenico.
Photo: Hilde Schwab, Chairperson, and Co-Founder, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship; Cultural Leader and Theaster Gates, Founder, and Director, Rebuild Foundation, Cultural Leader speaking in The 26th Annual Crystal Award Ceremony session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 20 January. Conference Center - Congress Hall. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/ Valeriano Di Domenico.
Photo: Deepika Padukone, Founder, Live Love Laugh Foundation, India; Cultural Leader speaking in The 26th Annual Crystal Award Ceremony session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 20 January. Conference Center - Congress Hall. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/ Faruk Pinjo.
Geneva, Switzerland, 20 January 2020 - Artist Theaster Gates, choreographer, and media personality Jin Xing, actor Deepika Padukone and artist Lynette Wallworth are the recipients of the World Economic Forum 26th Annual Crystal Award. The award celebrates the achievements of artists and cultural figures whose leadership inspires inclusive and sustainable change. The winners were honored in the opening session of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, on Monday 20 January.
“These wonderful cultural leaders are bridge-builders. They connect us. They help us reflect on the human condition, and they provide visions of the world that can cut through the limitations of short-term or linear thinking,” said Hilde Schwab, Chairwoman, and Co-Founder of the World Arts Forum, which hosts the awards.
Award recipients
• Theaster Gates, for his leadership in creating sustainable communities
Theaster Gates is an artist who lives and works in Chicago. Drawing on his interest and training in urban planning and preservation, Gates creates works that focus on space theory, land development, sculpture, and performance. In 2010, Gates established the Rebuild Foundation to galvanize communities through neighborhood regeneration and the development of educational and arts programming. Many of the foundation’s initiatives are centered on the revitalization of Chicago’s South Side, creating hubs and archives for the black culture that serve as catalysts for discussions on race, equality, space, and history. Gates is a professor at the University of Chicago in the Department of Visual Arts and the Harris School of Public Policy and is Distinguished Visiting Artist and Director of Artist Initiatives at the Lunder Institute for American Art at Colby College.
“Special thanks to the World Economic Forum for this most prized Crystal Award. The impact of the arts and artists is incomparable when we think about the transformation of cities and towns. I am honored to work as a believer in beauty and creativity and hope the work and the ideals that I lead within Chicago have resonance throughout the world,” said Gates.
• Jin Xing, for her leadership in shaping inclusive cultural norms
Jin Xing is a choreographer, media personality, and China’s most popular TV host. She is the founder of the award-winning Jin Xing Dance Theatre, the country’s first independent dance company. Her television shows, which include Venus Hits Mars, The Jin Xing Show, and Chinese Dating, draw more than 100 million viewers a week and create a space for discussion on contemporary life in China. She is a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France and received an honorary Doctorate of Dance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
“In today’s complex and fractured world, I pursue my mission to be true to the society, to be a true voice for the public, as an artist, a public figure and as a human being. I’m grateful and honored to receive this year’s Crystal Award. This honor encourages me to continue my mission and be crystal clear towards life,” said Jin.
• Deepika Padukone, for her leadership in raising mental health awareness
Deepika Padukone is an internationally acclaimed actor, fashion icon, and mental health ambassador from India. She has acted in close to 30 feature films across genres and won several awards for her performances. Many of her films also rank among the highest-grossing movies of all time. Padukone was diagnosed with clinical depression in 2014 and sought professional help to aid her recovery. In June 2015, she founded The Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLLF) to give hope to every person experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression (SAD). The foundation’s programs and initiatives include nationwide public awareness and destigmatization campaigns, adolescent mental health programs, funding support for treatment in rural communities, general training physicians in common mental health disorders, research, and an annual lecture series featuring the world’s foremost thinkers and achievers.
“With more than 300 million people suffering from the illness, depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability in the world today and a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. I am humbled and deeply honored to be chosen for this year’s Crystal Award and dedicate the award to the millions around the world who experience stress, anxiety and depression, and other forms of mental illness,” Padukone said.
• Lynette Wallworth, for her leadership in creating inclusive narratives
Lynette Wallworth is an Australian artist whose immersive video installations, virtual reality, and film works reflect the connections between people and the natural world. She won an Emmy Award for her virtual reality film Collisions, which the World Economic Forum commissioned, premiered, and executive-produced. Wallworth was named one of the “100 Leading Global Thinkers” by Foreign Policy magazine for immersing audiences in the destructive power of nuclear weapons. Her 2018 mixed-reality film Awavena, the story of the first woman Shaman from the Yawanawa tribe in Brazil, as well as her most recent works, have been made at the invitation of indigenous communities. She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Virtual and Augmented Reality and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sundance Institute.
“I have sought to use my skills as an artist to bring unheard voices, including indigenous voices. These voices ring out with resilience, persistence, power, and grace. In supporting my work, the creation and the presentation of it, the World Economic Forum has helped me place it in front of those I most wished to impact, those whose decisions help shape our shared future. I am immensely grateful that these works, these voices, have been heard and are being honored by a Crystal Award,” said Lynette Wallworth.
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting brings together leaders from government, international organizations, business, civil society, the arts and culture and media, foremost experts, and the young generation from all over the world, at the highest level and in representative ways. It engages some 50 heads of state and government, more than 300 ministerial-level government participants, and business representation at the chief executive officer and chair level.
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