Absolut Vodka Institutes the Absolut Art Award

- Keren Cytter Receives the First-Ever Absolut Art Award

STOCKHOLM , Oct. 30 /CNW/ - Through its frequent collaborations with cutting-edge artists, designers and photographers, ABSOLUT VODKA is a proud supporter of the arts. This year, in the tradition of the company's 30 years of creative collaborations, ABSOLUT VODKA decided to fund a yearly award of Euro 15.000 to an international young artist exploring creativity through the integration of art forms. As head of the Absolut Art Award jury, Daniel Birnbaum will award the first-ever winner in a ceremony at Lydmar Hotel in Stockholm .

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091030/364613-a)

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091030/364613-b)

"Keren Cytter is awarded the first-ever Absolut Art Award for her outstanding cross-pollination of art forms. Cytter's works take her beyond the traditional art forms, while exploring the intersection between theater, performance, film and installation art. Her artistry involves investigative narratives which reason with both our subconscious and our quest for good storytelling," says Daniel Birnbaum , head of the Absolut Art Award jury.

Keren Cytter, born 1977 in Israel , now lives in Berlin . Her work has brought a lot of critical acclaim when shown at galleries and museums around Europe . The prize provides the artist, in addition to the cash award, with the chance for a collaboration or an underwritten work with the Absolut Company in the upcoming year.

" Andy Warhol was the first artist to collaborate with ABSOLUT VODKA. Since then hundreds of artists have helped us in the building of our brand, for which we are forever grateful. ABSOLUT and art have walked hand in hand for many years, and the Absolut Art Award expresses our long term commitment to creativity," says Anna Malmhake, Vice President Global Marketing at The Absolut Company.

Daniel Birnbaum , professor and principal of the Stadelschule in Frankfurt , and Director of the Visual Arts Sector at the Venice Biennale 2009, chairs the Absolut Art Award jury, which also consists of Thomas Nordanstad, filmmaker and curator, Anna Malmhake, Vice President Global Marketing , The Absolut Company and Goran Lundqvist, Chairman of the board at Sweden's Historical Museum of Wine & Spirits. Future juries will include the most recent winner of the ABSOLUT Art Award.

About the Absolut Art Collection:

For 30 years, ABSOLUT VODKA has collaborated with the creative world, and the Absolut Art Collection today comprises more than 800 works from artists such as Andy Warhol , Damien Hirst , Jean-Michael Basquiat, Louise Bourgeois , Sylvie Fleury , David Shrigley , Hung Tung Lu, Dan Wolgers and Linn Fernstrom . For the first time ever, the collection is now gathered in Sweden where it will get its permanent home in Stockholm at the Historical Museum of Wine & Spirits.

For press images or further information, visit: http://absolutartcollection.com or http://press.absolut.com.

For further information: Asa Caap, Senior Manager Global PR, The Absolut Company, E-mail: [email protected], Tel: [phone]