Rolex and the Arts

Rolex has a rich history of supporting excellence in art. In addition to recognizing individuals such as German tenor Jonas Kaufmann for their artistic successes, they also support several cultural institutions worldwide such as the Royal Opera House in London and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. In addition, they have a program called the Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative that pairs seasoned artists in several disciplines with proteges to help cultivate and develop artistic talent. 


Academy Award Winner and Rolex Mentor Alejandro González Iñárritu
Academy Award Winner and Rolex Mentor Alejandro González Iñárritu
Rolex's Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative has coupled Oscar-winning directors with protégés in the film industry since 2004, when the program began to include film as a discipline. Alejandro González Iñárritu, the first Mexican director to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director, participated in the 2014-2015 initiative. more


Every Rolex Tells a Story: James Cameron
Academy Award Winning Director James Cameron (photo: Rolex)
While the world knows James Cameron as the Oscar winning director of blockbusters like Titanic and Avatar, the filmmaker and Rolex Testimonee also has a passion for exploration that is expressed in the watchmaker's latest addition to their Every Rolex Tells a Story series. more



88th Academy Awards Greenroom
For the second consecutive year, Rolex will be the Exclusive Sponsor of the Oscars Greenroom. This sponsorship fits nicely in the branding model of the watchmaker, focusing on centers of influence that exemplify excellence. more


Codex: Ashes and Snow by Gregory Colbert (photo: Gregory Colbert Facebook)
Gregory Colbert is a Canadian artist whose photographic, filmic and literary work focuses on moments of contact between man and the animal kingdom. In 2002, he presented a show at the Venice Arsenal entitled Ashes and Snow. more

Mentors for Cycle 8 of Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative (photo: Rolex)
The Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative is a philanthropic program started by the company in 2002 that pairs masters of different artistic disciplines with proteges that are selected by anonymous panels. more

Director Alfonso CuarĂłn and ProtĂ©gĂ© Chaitanya Tamhane (photo: Rolex/©Rolex/Audoin Desforges)
Rolex just released the names of the protĂ©gĂ©s selected for their 2016-2017 program. They include Mexican director Alfonso CuarĂłn, photographed above with his protĂ©gĂ© Chaitanya Tamhane of India. more
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (photo: Rolex/Ambroise TĂ©zenas)
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (photo: Rolex/Ambroise TĂ©zenas)
New Zealand sporano Kiri Te Kanawa became the first Rolex Arts Testimonee in 1976. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1982 for her services to opera just a year after singing for Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at their wedding. more

The Metropolitan Opera, New York City (photo: Rolex/Ambroise TĂ©zenas)
The largest classical music organization in North America, The Metropolitan Opera saw its first season in 1883. Rolex has been the official timepiece of The Metropolitan Opera since August of 2011. more

German Tenor Jonas Kaufmann (photo: Rolex/Benoît Peverelli)
German tenor Jonas Kaufmann is considered one of the greatest operatic talents of his generation. Since his career began in the late nineties, he has appeared on all of the major stages in the world, including The Royal Opera House in London and The Metropolitan Opera in New York City. more

The Royal Opera House in London (photo: Rolex/Ambroise TĂ©zenas)
In addition to its Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative and testimonees like Plácido Domingo and Jonas Kaufmann, Rolex supports the arts by patronizing cultural institutions like The Royal Opera House in London. more

Rolex Testimonee Plácido Domingo (photo: Rolex/ Mario Testino)
After establishing himself as an opera great in the 1960s and 1970s, Plácido Domingo began recording popular and Latin music in the 1980s with much success. He became a Rolex Arts Testimonee in 1982. more VIDEO

Photo of Teatro Alla Scala, Milan (photo: Rolex/Ambroise TĂ©zenas)
Teatro Alla Scala, Milan (photo: Rolex/Ambroise TĂ©zenas)
Teatro alla Scala is an opera house in Milan, Italy that was inaugurated in August of 1778. It was approved for construction by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria in 1776 after a fire burned down the Teatro Regio Ducale. It was built on the site of the Church of Maria alla Scala, which was deconsecrated and demolished to make room for the structure. more

Rolex Arts Testimonee Cecilia Bartoli (photo: ©Rolex/Emmanuel Fradin)
Italian Mezzo-Soprano Cecilia Bartoli is a world renowned mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. Educated in song by her parents, both singers, she made her opera debut in 1987 in Verona, Italy at the age of 21. more

Salzburg, Austria during the 2014 Salzburg Festival (photo: Rolex/Ambroise Tezenas)
The Salzburg Festival is a celebration of performing arts and music that takes place in Salzburg, Austria every summer. The first festival took place in 1920 with a performance of Hugo von Hofmannsthal's Jedermann in front of the Salzburg Cathedral. more

Japanese Architect Kengo Kuma's design for Rolex's Dallas Sales & Service Center (design: Kengo Kuma)
In addition to his job designing Japan's National Stadium for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Kengo Kuma has also been hired to design the new Rolex Sales and Service center in Dallas, Texas. The Dallas tower features an environmentally sophisticated design that incorporates natural light and historic Japanese architecture. more

Rolex Testimonee Bryn Terfel (photo: Fadil Berisha)
Welsh opera singer Bryn Terfel is a world renowned bass-baritone. The Guildhall School of Music and Drama graduate won the Lieder Prize in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 1989.  more

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra New Years Concert (photo: Jun Keller)
One of the worlds foremost institutions of classical music, Rolex has been the exclusive partner of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra since 2008 and exclusive sponsor of their New Years Concert since 2009. more

Mexican Tenor Rolando VillazĂłn (photo: Monika Rittershaus)
A Rolex Arts Testimonee since 2005, Mexican tenor Rolando VillazĂłn has been dazzling audiences with his beautiful voice and masterful stage presence when he appeared on the international opera scene in 1999.  more

Rolex Testimonee Yuja Wang (photo: Rolex/Hugo Glendinning)
The daughter of a dancer and a percussionist, Beijing-born concert pianist Yuja Wang became a Rolex Arts Testimonee in 2009. The young piano prodigy began playing at the age of six and by the time she was eleven, she was already playing international music festivals. more

Conductor Gustavo Dudamel (photo: Rolex/Monika Rittershaus)
A Rolex Arts Testimonee since 2008, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel began his career young, making his conducting debut at age 12. He has remained busy since then, serving as musical director for several orchestras before turning thirty years old. more

Rolex Arts Testimonee Yo-Yo Ma (photo: Rolex/Marco Grob)
Chinese-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma is one of the most accomplished classical musicians of our time, releasing over 100 albums and winning 18 Grammy Awards. He was born in Paris, raised in New York, studied at Juilliard and graduated from Harvard all by 1976. more

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