« It is a great honor to receive the renowned Goslar Kaiserring for 2022, » says Isaac Julien.

« This award has a long and impressive history, and many of the previous winners are long-time friends and colleagues (…) Receiving this award is also an inspiration to continue the work that I have been doing for four decades. » His relationship with Germany, where he has taught for a long time and has many friends, has always been particularly strong. « And this award comes at an important time when the recognition of international values ​​in contemporary art is essential, » said the artist.

In their justification, the Kaiserring jury wrote about Isaac Julien: “He breaks down barriers between different artistic disciplines by drawing from film, dance, photography, music, theatre, painting and sculpture and uniting them in a highly sensual visual narrative. Julien’s work deals with important social and human issues of our time – racism, migration, diversity, queerness, homophobia and chauvinism – and encourages us to rethink and explore social responsibility. » Isaac Julien combines pointed political expressiveness with an aesthetic of visual seduction.

Isaac Julien (born 1960 in London) is an international filmmaker who has produced work for cinema, television and art museums and galleries throughout his career. He studied fine arts and film at St. Martin’s School of Art and in the 1980s co-founded the « Sankofa Film and Video Collective », which is dedicated to the development of an independent black film culture. Along with a number of black and Asian filmmakers, he is regarded as a pioneer of international black cinema.

Isaac Julien has been showing his museum work as film installations on several screens since the mid-1990s. He is considered a pioneer of this form of presentation. At the same time, he always produces a work version for the cinema.

Isaac Julien lives and works primarily in London and is a professor at UC Santa Cruz. He has been a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) for more than 20 years. In 2017 he was honored by the British Queen Elizabeth II for services to art and film and in 2018 he was made a « Royal Academician ».