The Institute for Art and Olfaction is pleased to announce the winners for the 9^th Art and Olfaction Awards, which took place on May 11, 2023 at the Cicada Club in downtown Los Angeles.  

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Launched in 2014, the Art and Olfaction Awards have become a highly distinguished recognition of excellence in the field of independent perfumery. This event aims to promote public interest and awareness of the latest developments in perfume, and recognizes outstanding creators in the Independent, Artisan, and Experimental perfume categories. The awards acknowledge a diverse range of styles and techniques, honoring creators from various backgrounds and perspectives.

The Art and Olfaction Awards' Golden Pear statuette is presented annually to eight deserving recipients at events held in different cities across the globe. Through this recognition, the organization has helped to foster innovation and creativity in the art of perfumery, while inspiring a new generation of independent perfumers. Cemented by its the three juried categories (artisan category, independent category, and the Sadakichi Award for Experimental Work with Scent), awards are also given in three discretionary categories: The Contribution to Scent Culture Award, The Septimus Piesse Award for Exceptional Vison, and the Aftel Award for Handmade Perfume.

The announcement of the winners took place at a standing-room only ceremony in Los Angeles’ stunning art deco jewel, the Cicada Club, where attendees from all over the world convened to celebrate independent perfumery. The event was emceed by Institute for Art and Olfaction board members Kendra Gaeta and Jeffrey Paul, with music provided by the Community Chorus, a drop-in, persistence-themed chorus founded by artist/composer Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs. Presenters at the awards included IAO board members Ashley Eden Kessler, Dana El Masri, Lakenda Wallace, Maxwell Williams, Sarah-Horowitz-Thran, Daniel Krasofski, Minetta Rogers and Julianne Lee. They were joined onstage by perfumer Spyros Drosopoulos, artist Miles Regis, perfumer Paul Kiler, Nickie Jones and Mark Loveday from Pochpac, perfumer John Biebel, curator Darin Klein, and Steven Gontarski and Franco Wright from Scent Bar | Luckyscent.

 

IAO founder Saskia Wilson-Brown closed the ceremony with a concluding statement, addressing the finalists: “While some of us have the pear and some us don’t, I want to impress upon you the difficulty of getting to where you are today. I know it’s frightfully California, but take a moment to give yourself a little self-love, a little congratulations. Think of all the things your ancestors, your grandparents, your parents even went through to bring you to this world, and all the odds against each of us making a piece of work that somehow resonates with someone else. And then, think of all the random coincidences and serendipitous moments that led you to be here, together. It’s a miracle. Your tiny, solitary acts of creativity carried forward into a meaningful result, and a larger community. We’re all here doing our part to further a new culture for perfumery.”

 

It gives us great pleasure to announce the winners for the 9th awards. Please join us in congratulating these outstanding creators.

INDEPENDENT CATEGORY WINNERS
As with past years, we have two winners in the Independent Category

Fuchsrot, by Bodé Studios
Perfumer: Andreas Wilhelm for Bodé Studios, Switzerland
Creative Directors: Lino Bottani, Nicola Deflorin

Ierofante, by Parfums Quartana
Perfumer: Luca Maffei for Parfums Quartana, USA
Creative Director: Joseph Quartana

ARTISAN CATEGORY WINNERS
As with past years, we have two winners in the Artisan Category

Tabacco Smeraldo, by Miguel Matos
Perfumer: Miguel Matos, Portugal

Voices, by House of Mammoth
Perfumer: Benjamin Esposito, USA

 

AFTEL AWARD FOR HANDMADE PERFUME WINNER
La Tacita De Cafe, Extrait, by Day Three Fragrances
Perfumer: Michael Paul, USA

SADAKICHI AWARD FOR EXPERIMENTAL WORK WITH SCENT WINNER
Salt Flowers
by Peter de Cupere, Belgium

SEPTIMUS PIESSE VISIONARY AWARD WINNER
Olif
by Taylor Ahlmark & Anoria Gilbert for Maak Lab, USA

CONTRIBUTION TO SCENT CULTURE AWARD WINNER

Black Perfumers
by Elle N., and an international collective of 33 perfumers.

 

We wish to extend another round of applause for the finalists in each category.

INDEPENDENT CATEGORY FINALISTS
Animal Café, by ExtraVirgo
Flamingo, by Blackcliff
Hora de la Verdad, Sombra, by Senyokô
Los Angeles, by de Kloka X Death & Co
Mansa, by Pernoire
Room No., by Perfumehead
Tri-Goddess, by Sage Goddess
Wind Blows, by QIUHAO

ARTISAN CATEGORY FINALISTS
Alter Oud, by d.grayi
Encore du Temps, by Meo Fusciuni
Filament, by nosey people society
Garden Heaux, by SAMAR
Osmanthus Floral, by Neshama Perfume
Solario, by OSMOFOLIA
Tatami Dreams, by Tavie Belle

SADAKICHI AWARD FINALISTS
Aerosculpture, by Maki Ueda
Aquanauts, by Pompe Hedengren with Karolina Stockhaus
Lágrimas, Terra e Crisântemo, by Karola Braga with Leandro Petit (Givaudan)
NEGR-OID, by Rhea Dillon
Scent Clock / The Koepenicker, by Patrick Palcic

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The Art and Olfaction Awards was founded in 2013 as an independent awards mechanism designed to celebrate innovation and excellence in artisan and independent perfume, and experimentation work with scent. The Art and Olfaction Awards are a program of The Institute for Art and Olfaction.

The Institute for Art and Olfaction (IAO) is a 501(c)3 non-profit based in Los Angeles, CA. The Institute for Art and Olfaction advances public and artistic engagement with scent. We do this by initiating and supporting arts projects that utilize the medium of scent, by providing accessible and affordable education in our experimental laboratory as well as in partnership with institutions and community groups, and by celebrating excellence in independent and artisan perfumery through our yearly award mechanism, The Art and Olfaction Awards. Through these efforts, we extend the world of scent beyond its traditional boundaries of appreciation and use.