Please put your hands together and applaud the intrepid, talented and high-achieving judges who will be assessing the submissions for the 2015 Art and Olfaction Awards.

A QUICK NOTE

With the launch of our new category for 2015, we decided to rethink the judging process.

We are retaining the two-part format: The preliminary round judges decide the finalist perfumes, and the final round judges decide the winners.

However, we have added a second pool of judges to the preliminary rounds to sort through the experimental submissions. We did this because the experimental submissions will be judged in a slightly different way. Submitters will be allowed to provide limited supporting materials (video, images or other ephemera that helps explain the work as a whole), and will be judged in the context of collaboration and their arts practice.

If this isn't entirely clear, yet do not worry. We're working with a research team in Switzerland (led by Dr. Claus Noppeney) to work out the language, judging and submission processes, and will be posting more about this in the coming weeks. Mysterious!

BUT LET'S GET TO THE POINT...

In the list below, you will recognize many old friends from our inaugural event in 2014 (we starred their names, because we think they're stars). You will also see some new talented new recruits.

What you will also see is a wealth of experience and intelligence, a deep fascination with scent, a generosity of spirit, and a true commitment to the arts. So without further ado, here are our judges.

We salute them.

PRELIMINARIES: INDEPENDENT AND ARTISAN CATEGORIES

These preliminary round judges will blindly score the submissions in the independent category and artisan category. The five finalists in each category will move on to the final stage of judging.

• Ashley Eden Kessler*, Perfumer: Learn more
• Brent Leonesio*, Perfumer at Smell Bent: Learn more
• Daniel Krasofski*, Perfumer and Educator: Learn more
• Hank Jenkins*, Founder The Plant Provocateur: Learn more
• James McHugh*, Professor at USC: Learn more
• Laura Johnson*, Retail at Scent Bar: Learn more
• Neal Harris, CEO ScentEvents, Harris Fragrances LLC: Learn more
• Persephenie Lea, Perfumer at Persephenie: Learn more
• Steven Gontarski*, Manager at Scent Bar: Learn more
• Sherri Sebastian*, Perfumer at Sebastian Signs and Fragrance West: Learn more
• Yvettra Grantham*, Retail at Scent Bar: Learn more

 

PRELIMINARIES: EXPERIMENTAL CATEGORY

These preliminary round judges will blindly score the submissions in the experimental category. The finalists in the experimental category will then move on to the final stage of judging.

• Allison Agsten, Curator of Public Engagement at Hammer Museum: Learn more
• Bettina Hubby, Artist and Curator: Learn more
• Dr. Kóan Jeff Baysa*, Co-Founder Honolulu Bienal: Learn more
• Marcos Lutyens*, Artist: Learn more
• Mark Allen, Founder of Machine Project: Learn more

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We will announce the judges for the final round soon, just as soon as we get one or two more confirmations.