Established in 2002, the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative is a philanthropic programme that seeks out gifted young creatives from around the world and brings them together with the masters for a year of creative collaboration. Over the past decade, the initiative has seen the pairing of mentors and protégés in dance, film literature, music, theatre, visual arts and – for the first time in 2012 – architecture. The first such architectural collaboration saw respected Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima working with selected protégé, Chinese architect Yang Zhao on a project entitled “Home-for-All”, a communal gathering place that was part of an initiative by Sejima and other leading Japanese architects in

response to the devastation caused by the 2011 tsunami in Japan. Officially opened in October 2013, Home-for-All replaces the community space in the Kesennuma fishing community in Miyagi Prefecture, which was swept away during the tsunami. The eye-catching building, which is both highly contemporary and respects many elements of Japanese tradition, has won the approval not only of the local community, but also of the government. Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative rolexmentorprotege.com