Jojo Mayer receives the Zurich Culture Prize
This year's Culture Prize of the Canton of Zurich goes to percussionist Jojo Mayer, while the two sponsorship prizes go to dancer and choreographer Jamuna Mirjam Zweifel and the art space Les Complices*.
Born in 1963, Jojo Mayer is largely self-taught. He received his first permanent engagement with Monty Alexander's band at the age of 18 and toured extensively throughout Europe at jazz festivals such as Montreux, Nice and Athens. This career start led to collaborations with jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie and Nina Simone. In 1991, he moved to New York and shortly afterwards became a member of the experimental rock band Screaming Headless Torsos.
Jojo Mayer later led the movement of an entire generation of drummers who recreated machine sounds on acoustic instruments. In his career, he has "explored the limits of what can be played, renewed percussion playing and thereby established himself as one of the most innovative and globally influential percussionists of his generation", writes the Canton of Zurich.
A 2025 Medal of Honor will also be awarded to the literary figure Ilma Rakusa and the actress Heidi Diggelmann. The Golden Medal of Honor is awarded "in recognition of the life's work of an exceptional literary figure and intellectual who has left her mark on Zurich's cultural landscape and will continue to do so".
