Attendees of the 4th annual Art and Olfaction Awards, presented by the The Institute for Art and Olfaction, were treated to a night full of intoxicating scents at the Silent Green Kulturquartier in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 6. The Kulturquartier—formerly a crematorium built in 1911, revitalized as an arts venue—played host to the night’s events, which included awards, dinner and vocal improvisations by Snowblink, a Los Angeles-based musician who connects the auditory with the olfactory.
Awards were presented in the artisan, independent, and experimental perfumers categories, and an award was presented to one experimental scent project of the year. The first-ever Contribution to Scent Culture Award was also presented to Christophe Laudamiel, in partnership with Pochpac. Each awardee received the The Golden Pear; and each audience member got to enjoy a scent strip of the winning perfumes as each winner was announced.
The event actually began with the Experimental Scent Summit on Friday, May 5th, which presented a series of some of the most acclaimed intellects working in olfactory art; it was organized by A+O’s Saskia Wilson-Brown in collaboration with artist Klara Ravat.
During the awards event, world-renowned perfume writer and critic Luca Turin shared that he is in the process of compiling a brand-new edition of his legendary “Perfumes: The A-Z Guide,” first published in 2008 as the world's inaugural perfume compendium. He added: "This is the best-smelling audience ... ever. Most public events are spoiled by somebody wearing something diabolically awful. You made sure that is not the case, and I thank you for that."
The following are the 2017 awardees:
ARTISAN CATEGORY
Bruise Violet
by Sixteen92 (USA)
CD/Perfumer: Claire Baxter
Presented by judge Luca Turin
Mélodie de l'Amour
by Parfums Dusita (France)
CD/Perfumer: Pissara Umavijani
Presented by 2014 winner Tanja Bochnig
INDEPENDENT CATEGORY
Fathom V
by BeauFort London (UK)
CD: Leo Crabtree/Perfumer: Julie Marlowe
(Presented by judge Antonio Gardoni)
Altruist
by J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin (Germany)
CD: Lutz Herrmann/Perfumer: Véronique Nyberg
(Presented by judge Matthias Janke)
SADAKICHI AWARD
Osmodrama Berlin/Smeller 2.0
by Wolfgang Georgsdorf (Germany)
Perfumer: Geza Schön
Presented by judge Ashraf Osman
CONTRIBUTION TO SCENT CULTURE AWARD
Christophe Laudamiel
Presented by founder Saskia Wilson-Brown
[Photo by Martin Becker Fotografie; caption: Finalists of the Art and Olfaction Awards 2017 together at the end of the awards ceremony]