On 10 December 2014, HRH Prince Constantijn presents the Principal Prince Claus Award to Abel Rodríguez, artist, plant expert and community elder from the Amazon Basin in Colombia. Ten additional artists and cultural role models are also honoured for their pioneering work in culture and development.  All 11 laureates will be present at the ceremony on 10 December at the Royal Palace Amsterdam in the presence of members of the Dutch Royal Family.

2014 Principal Prince Claus Laureate Abel Rodríguez (1941, Colombia) is an elder of the Nonuya people with special expertise in the plants and ecological systems of the Amazon Basin. After his family left their homeland in the 1990s in the midst of the armed conflict, he began to create exquisite intricate drawings and paintings that are esteemed in both art and scientific circles for their unique qualities. By recording and conveying the Nonuya’s holistic environmental knowledge, passed down through generations, Abel Rodríguez’ workdemonstrates the value and relevance of indigenous knowledge for the common good.

The ten additional Prince Claus Laureates are: Tran Luong (performance and visual artist and independent curator, Vietnam); SPARROW (Sound & Picture Archives for Research on Women, India); Museo Itinerante de Arte por la Memoria (interdisciplinary collective, Peru); Gülsün Karamustafa (visual artist, Turkey); Ignacio Agüero (independent documentary filmmaker, Chile); Rosina Cazali (independent curator and writer, Guatemala); Lia Rodrigues (dancer and choreographer, Brazil); Lav Diaz (filmmaker, Philippines), FX Harsono (visual artist, Indonesia); and Invisible Borders (Trans-African Project, Nigeria).

Through its annual Prince Claus Awards, the Fund honours eleven outstanding artists, thinkers and organisations whose cultural and artistic actions have had a positive impact on their countries’ development. They are often role models and are an important source of inspiration for all those around them.

www.princeclausfund.org