Hammer Museum to Award Mohn Prize during Made in L.A. 2012
A professional jury and the public will select one artist to receive this $100,000 prize
The Hammer Museum is pleased to announce the establishment of the Mohn Prize in conjunction with the inauguration of Made in L.A. 2012. Funded through the generosity of Los Angeles philanthropists and art collectors Jarl and Pamela Mohn, the $100,000 prize will be awarded to an artist from the exhibition and will be accompanied by the publication of a book on the finalist’s work. The Mohn Prize follows in the tradition of the Tate's Turner Prize and the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Bucksbaum Award. However it is differentiated in one significant way: while a professional jury will select five finalists for the Mohn Prize, the winner will be chosen by visitors to the exhibition through online voting.
THE MOHN PRIZE
All sixty artists in all three venues of Made in L.A. 2012 are eligible to win the Mohn Prize. The professional jury who will select the finalists is comprised of peers from the contemporary art world around the country, including independent curator and writer Anthony Huberman, Doryun Chong Associate curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York; Cecilia Alemani, the Curator and Director of High Line Art Program; and Rita Gonzalez, curator of contemporary art at LACMA. The significant cash prize will be accompanied by a limited edition mongraphic volume on the winning artist's work. Jarl and Pamela Mohn's commitment to the prize extends through the first five cycles of Made in L.A. with the option to continue beyond. The jury and public are both asked to select the artist whose presentation of work stands out as exceptional in Made in L.A. 2012.
FIVE FINALISTS AND PUBLIC VOTING FOR THE MOHN PRIZE
The five finalists selected by the jury will be announced on June 28 at a Hammer Bash!—a public event celebrating the exhibition—and voting will commence immediately. Visitors to the exhibition will register to vote onsite at either the Hammer Museum or the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery and may only vote once they are registered (photo ID will be required). This process insures that each voter has actually attended the exhibition and that each person can only cast one vote. The Hammer is working with Trofee, a state certified digital voting platform, used by organizations such as UCLA and The Emmy Awards. This platform has the highest levels of security to ensure that the voting is secure and the results are authenticated. Voting will end on August 12 and the finalist will be announced soon after.
JARL MOHN
Jarl and Pamela Mohn are art collectors committed to supporting emerging L.A. artists. Professionally, Jarl Mohn divides his time between being a corporate director and advisor to a number of media companies, making direct early stage angel and seed investments in digital media/technology ventures, and managing The Mohn Family Foundation—the philanthropic entity he and his wife created in 2000. In addition to supporting arts initiatives, the Mohn Family Foundation funded the Mohn Broadcast Center for KPCC, a significant contribution to Public Radio in Southern California.
Previously he was the founding President and CEO of Liberty Digital, a public company that invested in interactive television, cable networks, and the internet. Prior to Liberty Digital, Jarl created E! Entertainment Television serving as its President and CEO from January 1990 to December 1998. Mohn was formerly Executive Vice President and General Manager of MTV and VH1 from 1986 to 1990 where he led the transformation from music videos to long form programming. Prior to his career in television, Mohn had a 19 year career in radio. He began as a disc jockey and moved through the ranks as a programmer, general manager, and then owner of a group of radio stations.
Originally from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Mohn attended Philadelphia’s Temple University where he studied mathematics and philosophy. He currently lives in Brentwood with his wife.
Made in L.A. 2012 is organized by the Hammer Museum in collaboration with LAXART.
The exhibition is presented by 
Major support is also provided by the Annenberg Foundation; Fundación Jumex, A.C.; Kayne Foundation—Ric & Suzanne Kayne and Jenni, Maggie & Saree; The Mohn Family Foundation; and the members of the Hammer Circle.
Generous support is provided by the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles; the Bloom Family; Gail and Stanley Hollander; Dori Peterman Mostov and Charles Mostov; Karyn Kohl; Heidi and Erik Murkoff; Linda and Jerry Janger; Julie and Barry Smooke; Amy Adelson and Dean Valentine; The Fran and Ray Stark Foundation; and an anonymous donor.
Additional support is provided by ForYourArt; the Pasadena Art Alliance; Alumnos 47.
The Venice Beach Biennial is made possible by the Teiger Foundation.
KCRW 89.9 FM is the official radio sponsor. Los Angeles magazine is the official print sponsor.
