The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE) recently announced that it will honor architect I.M. Pei with the fourth annual Leonore and Walter Annenberg Award for Diplomacy through the Arts. The award will be presented at a dinner at the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Reception Rooms today, May 15, 2012. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will host FAPE’s members at the event, and FAPE Chairman Jo Carole Lauder, will present the award to Mr. Pei. The award was established to recognize American individuals who have demonstrated long-term excellence and creative innovation, and recent past honorees include: Agnes Gund, and Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg. More information on the award after the break.
The Leonore and Walter Annenberg Award for Diplomacy through the Arts was established in 2008 to honor FAPE’s founder, Leonore Annenberg, and her husband, Walter. It recognizes American individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to the arts and who exhibit long-term excellence and innovation in the exchange of creativity and ideas that represent the rich and diverse culture of the United States.
“We are thrilled to present the 2012 Leonore and Walter Annenberg Award for Diplomacy through the Arts to I.M. Pei, one of the greatest living architects,” said Jo Carole Lauder, FAPE’s Chairman. “His innovation and boldness in the field of architecture for the past fifty years is a profound inspiration and an example of how design can make an impact on a global scale.”
I.M. Pei has been a leading figure in architecture since his emigration from China to the United States in 1935. Known for his progressive use of natural elements, open spaces and simple geometric patterns, Pei has designed some of the world’s most recognizable architecture, including the glass-and-steel pyramid for the Louvre in Paris (1993) and the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (1978).
