The Praemium Imperiale, established in 1988, annually honors the international contributions of five individuals in the Arts and Culture. In its 36th edition, Eduardo Souto de Moura has been recognized in the field of Architecture.
In addition to Souto de Moura, other awardees include visual artists Marian Abramovic (Serbia) and Peter Doig (United Kingdom), pianist András Schiff (United Kingdom), and choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (Belgium).
Eduardo Souto de Moura, born in Porto in 1952, has received more than a dozen awards over his career, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2018 and the Pritzker, the “Nobel of architecture,” in 2011 for his body of work.
Among other honors, he received the Prize from the X Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism in 2016, the Wolf Prize in Arts from Israel in 2013, the Pessoa Prize in 1998, and the Award from the International Association of Art Critics – Portugal, in 1996.
In the United States, his career was acknowledged by the American Academy of Arts and Letters with the Arnold W. Brunner Prize in 2019.
His projects include the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego (Cascais), Braga Municipal Stadium, Burgo Tower (Porto), Graça Morais Contemporary Art Center (Bragança), the renovation of the Grão Vasco National Museum (Viseu), and the interiors of Armazéns do Chiado (Lisbon). He also collaborated with Álvaro Siza on the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Kensington Gardens (London), which marked the beginning of his career in 1981.
This is not the first time Portuguese culture has been recognized by Japan’s Praemium Imperiale. In 2024, pianist Maria João Pires was honored and architect Álvaro Siza in 1998.
The Praemium Imperiale was created in 1988 by the Japan Art Association to recognize “exceptional work” in Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Music, and Theater or Film.
According to the organization, “the award honors individuals from around the world who transcend national and ethnic boundaries, embodying the culture and arts of our time.”
This year, the award ceremony is scheduled for October 22 in Tokyo.
