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Ben Frost is among six exceptional young talents who have been chosen by some of the world’s most distinguished artists for a year of collaboration and inspiration in the international Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, it was announced today.
 
Frost, 30, an acclaimed composer, producer and musician originally from Melbourne, who has lived and worked in Iceland since 2005, is the music protégé for 2010-2011. He will be mentored by Brian Eno from the U.K. who made his name with Roxy Music in the 1970s and has become a visionary composer and producer, working with many leading artists.

The Arts Initiative has six disciplines: dance, film, literature, music, theatre and visual arts. With four of the total 29 protégés over the five cycles of the Arts Initiative, this marks the first time an artist from Iceland has participated in this international programme.

The protégés will each have their own individually tailored programme, providing time across the year for unique personal access to and creative dialogue with their mentor. In addition, the protégés will receive a grant of US$25,000 each and are eligible for a further $25,000 towards the cost of creating a project following their mentoring year.

The other protégés and mentors for 2010-2011 are:
Dance: Australian dancer Lee Serle, selected by mentor Trisha Brown (United States)
Literature: American poet Tracy K. Smith, selected by mentor Hans Magnus Enzensberger (Germany);
Visual arts: South African artist Nicholas Hlobo, who will be mentored by Anish Kapoor (United Kingdom);
Theatre: Lebanese actor, writer and aspiring director Maya Zbib, whose mentor is Peter Sellars (United States);
Film: Annemarie Jacir, a Palestinian film director and poet living in Jordan, who will be mentored by Zhang Yimou (China).

The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative was founded in 2002. The programme is organized by a specialist team based at Rolex headquarters in Geneva. Through an Advisory Board, which recommends the mentors, and expert nominating panels, six talented, young artists around the world are sought to work alongside six major artists in the fields of dance, film, literature, music, theatre and visual arts for a year of intense collaboration. Artists who have been mentors on the programme are: John Baldessari, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Sir Colin Davis, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, William Forsythe, Stephen Frears, Sir Peter Hall, David Hockney, Rebecca Horn, Jiří Kylián, Toni Morrison, Mira Nair, Youssou N’Dour, Jessye Norman, Martin Scorsese, Álvaro Siza, Wole Soyinka, Julie Taymor, Saburo Teshigawara, Mario Vargas Llosa, Kate Valk, Robert Wilson and Pinchas Zukerman.