Praemium Imperiale in Painting

On 18 October 2017, Shirin Neshat received the Praemium Imperiale in the category of Painting at an awards ceremony in Tokyo, one of the world’s most prestigious global arts prizes recognizing lifetime achievement.[14][19] Established by the Japan Art Association and often described as a "Nobel Prize" for the arts, the Praemium Imperiale honors artists with sustained international impact across disciplines.

Neshat’s selection acknowledged not only her photographic and video work but also the painterly qualities of her compositions—the use of chiaroscuro, calligraphic mark‑making, and carefully staged mise‑en‑scène. The award recognized decades of exploring the emotional and political realities of Muslim women, the experience of exile, and the memory of Iran’s Revolution and subsequent conflicts.[6][18]

Receiving the Praemium Imperiale placed Neshat among a small group of globally celebrated artists and solidified her position in art history as a major figure of late‑twentieth‑ and early‑twenty‑first‑century visual culture.[14] Though not documented as a barrier‑breaking "first" for an Iranian or woman laureate, the honor underscored the centrality of voices from the Middle East and its diasporas in contemporary art canons, and it highlighted the capacity of politically engaged, lens‑based work to be recognized alongside more traditional mediums at the highest levels.