A message from our Chairman, Ali Cordero Casal
VAEA’s Páez Medal of Art
The Venezuelan American Endowment for the Arts (VAEA) presented our highest award, The Páez Medal of Art 2015, for her important contribution to the arts to:
Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz, New York City, 2012. Photograph by Nick Rogers.
The American photographer Annie Leibovitz’s outstanding contributions to the art of photography in her forty-year career are numerous and exceptional. Leibovitz started her artistic journey as a photographer for Rolling Stone magazine, producing many of the now iconic images of the cultural scene of the seventies. In 1983 she joined Vanity Fair magazine, where she continues to elevate the art of portraiture; her trademark style and unique aesthetic sense have helped define the magazine’s look. Since the early 1990s, she has also been a regular contributor to Vogue. In addition to her magazine editorial work, Leibovitz has developed an impressive body of work that has been exhibited by major museums and art institutions worldwide, including the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.. Leibovitz is the recipient of many honors. She has been designated a Living Legend by the Library of Congress, awarded the Centenary Medal of the Royal Photographic Society in London, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Center of Photography and the Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities.
For VAEA it is of special significance to bestow The Páez Medal of Art to Leibovitz, as she was part of VAEA’s inaugural exhibition in 1989 titled 5X5, 150 Years of Photography, which was curated by Anne Horton with texts by Helmut Gernsheim, and was exhibited in several venues in Venezuela and Colombia.
The Páez Medal of Art is awarded once a year to an individual or group that has had an impact and contributed to the excellence, growth, support and proliferation of the arts in Venezuela and the United States; Leibovitz will be the first North American woman to receive the Páez Medal of Art. Previous recipients include: Art Advocate Sofía Imber in 2014, North American artist Robert Wilson in 2013 and Venezuelan visual artist Carlos Cruz-Diez in 2012.
The Páez will be bestowed to Leibovitz in a ceremony during VAEA’s Annual Benefit Gala on November 18th 2015 in New York City.
VAEA is honored to celebrate the work of Annie Leibovitz, an artist whose unique vision and dedication have earned her a place in the history of art as one of the greatest creators of her generation.
To purchase tickets to attend VAEA’s Annual Benefit Gala Honoring Annie Leibovitz click here
For additional information contact:
Valeria Cordero, Executive Director valeriacordero@vaearts.org – 917 2858232 (vaea)
About VAEA: VAEA is a NY based 501(c)3 public charity, founded on June 13, 1990 with the mission of strengthening the ties of friendship between the United States of America and Venezuela through bi-national cultural and social programs.