Robert Wilson
(1941, Waco, Texas) is among the world’s foremost theatre and visual artists. After studying at the University of Texas and Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, Wilson founded the New York-based performance collective The Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds in the mid-1960s and developed his first signature works, including Deafman Glance (1970) and A Letter for Queen Victoria (1974 / 75). He wrote the seminal opera Einstein on the Beach (1976) with Philip Glass. Wilson has been honoured with numerous awards for excellence, including a Pulitzer Prize nomination, two Premio Ubu awards, the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale, and an Olivier Award. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the German Akademie der Künste, Berlin, and holds eight Honorary Doctorates. France pronounced him Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (2003) and Officer of the Legion of Honour (2014); Germany awarded him the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit (2014).