William Kentridge

William Kentridge (b. 1955, Johannesburg) works across mediums of drawing, writing, film, performance, music, theater, and collaborative practices to create works of art that are grounded in politics, science, literature, and history, always maintaining a space for contradiction and uncertainty. His work has been seen in museums and galleries around the world since the 1990s, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Albertina Museum in Vienna, Musée du Louvre in Paris, Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen, Reina Sofía museum in Madrid, Kunstmuseum in Basel, and the Royal Academy of Arts in London. His work can be found in the collections of art museums and institutions across the globe. Kentridge has directed Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Shostakovich’s The Nose, and Alban Berg’s Lulu and Wozzeck for opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, La Scala in Milan, English National Opera in London, Opéra National de Lyon, Dutch National Opera, the Sydney Opera House, and the Salzburg Festival. His original works for stage combine performance, projections, shadow play, voice, and music, and include The Refusal of Time, The Head & the Load, and Waiting for the Sibyl. In 2016, Kentridge founded the Centre for the Less Good Idea in Johannesburg: a space for responsive thinking and making through experimental, collaborative, and cross-disciplinary arts practices. The center hosts an ongoing program of workshops, public performances, and mentorship activities. Kentridge is the recipient of honorary doctorates from universities including Yale, Columbia, and the University of London. Prizes include the Kyoto Prize (2010), the Princesa de Asturias Award (2017), the Praemium Imperiale Prize (2019), and an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera in 2023.