High-ranking representatives from the cultural, scientific and business sectors 
celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Kempinski Young Artist Programme at Hotel Adlon Kempinski in Berlin on 22 June 2014.
Launched in 2009, the programme enables young artists in the fields of music and the visual arts to develop, study in another country and thus draw fresh artistic inspiration.
Under the leadership of Duncan O’Rourke (Chief Operating Officer, Kempinski Hotels S.A.) and Programme Director Marylea van Daalen, Kempinski Hotels subsidize the artists’ travel and provide opportunities for cultural exchange throughout the world. The programme is extremely flexible and geared solely to the needs of the individual artists, allowing them the greatest possible freedom.
The celebration was held in cooperation with Bard College Berlin, which also promotes networked comprehensive education, and the conductor and music educator Leon Botstein. During a panel discussion with the young Fellows and alumni of the programme as well as such established cultural figures as Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre in London, Suzanne Harf, Salzburg Festival, Thomas Hesse, Executive Board member of Bertelsmann, and Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Leon Botstein sparked a lively debate on the importance of cross cultural education.
The 21 artists supported thus far include Julia Lezhneva (soprano), Jonathan Berman (conductor), Kiryl Keduk (pianist), Emily Dierkes (painter), Minjie Zhang (photographer) and Sachin George Sebastian (paper artist).
Mais Hriesh was also introduced during the festivities. The young flutist from Palestine is the newest Fellow in the series of successful artists who enrich the Kempinski Young Artist Programme. The programme is enabling her to further broaden her knowledge and develop her talent with the internationally renowned flutist Peter-Lukas Graf during this year’s Summer Academy at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.