Cambridge, MA.... Isaac Julien, an installation filmmaker from London known for his mediations on popular mythology, history, race, and high culture is the recipient of the 2001 Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts presented by the Council for the Arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Julien is an internationally recognized artist, writer, teacher, and scholar who lectures and writes extensively on issues of black cultural politics, film, art and sexuality. Forging a new language around black representation, he breaks down the barriers between artistic disciplines, uniting film, dance, photography, music, theater, painting and sculpture to construct a powerfully visual narrative. He came to prominence in the film world with his 1989 drama-documentary "Looking for Langston," a poetic exploration of Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance which gained him a cult following. His renown grew in 1991 when his film "Young Soul Rebels" won the Semaine de la Critique prize for best film at the Cannes Film Festival.

Julien studied at St Martin's School of Art in London. His films, videos and installations have been shown at Tate Gallery in London, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, MIT's List Visual Arts Center, and at art cinemas and film festivals around the world. His previous awards include the Art Pace International Award; Andy Warhol Foundation Award; Certificate of Merit, Golden Gate Awards, San Francisco Film Festival; and Pratt and Whitney Canada Grand Prize, 15th International Festival of Films on Art. Julien recently became a Research Fellow at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2001. He is currently Visiting Lecturer on Afro-American Studies and on Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard University.

The McDermott Award, presented annually since 1974 in honor of Eugene McDermott, a benefactor to MIT in education and the arts, is bestowed upon an artist of the highest caliber in a given arts discipline. The award has evolved over the years, initially honoring MIT presidents, MIT arts patrons and well-established artists with MIT connections such as IM Pei, Richard Leacock and Henry Moore. Over the past ten years, the award has been given to an artist who is considered by the committee to be on the verge of world-wide public acclaim. Recent awardees include author Junot Diaz, architects Diller and Scofidio and composer/musician Tan Dun.

The Award will be presented at the Council's Annual Meeting on October 25, which this year will focus on the visual arts. Julien will return to the MIT campus at a later date for a brief residency.

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