The Institute for Art and Olfaction will open submissions for the third annual Art and Olfaction Awards on Oct. 5.
The Art and Olfaction Awards are highly competitive and highly selective awards designed to celebrate innovation, excellence and experimentation in perfumery on a global scale.
Awarded to just four perfumes and one creative project a year, the Golden Pear has quickly become a prestigious and sought-after honor. The award has become a strong arbiter of excellence, primarily due to the fact that submissions are judged blindly by an international panel of perfumers, artists, critics, curators and scientists.
Submissions for the third annual awards will end on Dec. 4. Three categories are available: Artisan, Independent and Experimental.
Submissions are open to perfumes and experimental scent projects that were (or will be) released to public consumption or view between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2015.
The Artisan Award will be presented to two outstanding artisanal perfumes out of five finalists. Artisan perfume is being defined as a scent created by a perfumer who has direct ownership in the company, and blends every formulation, without the use of a fragrance house at any stage of the process.
The Independent Award will be presented to two outstanding independently created perfumes out of five finalists. Independent perfume is being defined as a scent created for or by a privately owned company with no more than three separate perfume companies in its holdings, and formulated by a perfumer who does not have a direct hand in every aspect of the production run of the perfume.
The 2016 Sadakichi Award for Experimental Use of Scent will be presented to one outstanding experimental scent project out of five finalists. This award honors the work of people who engage with scent outside of the realm of commercial perfumery. An experimental scent project is defined as a project in any arts practice that incorporates the use of scent in a significant manner.
The finalists for the third annual Art and Olfaction Awards will be announced at Esxence, the perfumery trade show, in Milan in late March 2016. Winners will be announced at the award ceremony in Los Angeles on May 6, 2016.
Past winners of the Art and Olfaction Awards are:
Artisan Award
Woodcut by Olympic Orchids (Perfumer: Ellen Covey, USA), 2015
Eau de Céleri by Monsillage
(Perfumer: Isabelle Michaud, Canada), 2015
Calling All Angels by April Aromatics (Perfumers: Tanja Bochnig, Germany), 2014
John Frum by Aether Arts Perfumes (Perfumer: Amber Jobin, USA), 2014
Independent Award
Black Pepper & Sandalwood by Acca Kappa (Perf: Luca Maffei, Italy), 2015
Skive by Canoe
(Perfumer Jessica Hannah, USA), 2015
Ashoka by Neela Vermeire Creations (Perfumer: Bertrand Duchaufour, France), 2014
KÖNIG by YOSH (Perfumer: Olivia Jan, USA), 2014
Sadakichi Award for Experimental Use of Scent
Famous Deaths by Marcel van Brakel, Frederik Duerinck, Mark Meeuwenoord, Wander Eikelboom, with Marcel Boonman, Daan Rijnkels, Caro Verbeek, Jorg Hempenius, Peter de Cupere, Thijs Eerens, Simon Kentgens, Martijn de Ruiter (Holland), 2015
[Image courtesy of the Institute for Art and Olfaction. 2015 judges (left to right): Persephenie and Andrew Berardini]