PRELIMINARY JUDGES: ARTISAN AND INDIE
ALFONSO NICOLAI
PERFUMER, TEOREMA
Alfonso Nicolai is an independent perfumer and interdisciplinary artist. He established TEOREMA, an olfactory design studio, in 2022. He has worked with brands and artists across fashion, entertainment, and luxury hospitality. For Nicolai, scent offers unconventional pathways into the evocative pleasures of alchemy, synesthesia, and deeper perceptual awareness.
ANTONIA KOHL
CO-FOUNDER MINISTRY OF SCENT
Antonia Kohl, founder of San Francisco’s Ministry of Scent, left a career in integrative design to pursue her passion for niche and indie fragrances. At MoS, she curates unique scents from independent perfumers, transforming her lifelong obsession with unusual perfumes into a celebrated, community-driven fragrance destination.
CHLOE COOVER
CO-HOST: NOSE CANDY
Chloe Coover is co-host of the Nose Candy perfume podcast. She is a visual artist, elusive chanteuse, writer, pop cultural anthropologist, fashion nerd, model-actress, and quadruple Leo. Chloe is in all endeavors, both professional and personal, proud to be a woman of trans experience.
DANA KILEY BUCHANAN
SCENT BAR | LUCKYSCENT
Dana Kiley Buchanan is an artist living in Los Angeles with over half a decade of experience working in perfumery with Luckyscent/Scent Bar. A deeply passionate fragrance enthusiast, she finds profound meaning in the world of scents and the power of scent memory, and co-hosts the Luckyscent podcast.
INEKE RUHLAND
PERFUMER, CO-FOUNDER OF MINISTRY OF SCENT
Ineke Rühland, a classically trained perfumer originally from Canada, creates original fragrances in her San Francisco studio. After working across Europe, she studied at ISIPCA in Versailles and apprenticed in Paris, combining traditional French perfumery with her love of design, literature, and the arts to craft distinctive perfume “stories.”
LINDA SIVRICAN
PERFUMER CAPSULE PARFUMERIE
Independent perfumer at Capsule Parfumerie, a multi-brand company she co-founded in 2012, Linda combines her reverence for premium ingredients and technical proficiency to create imaginative olfactory experiences. In 2020, she won the Golden Pear for Parallax Olfactory’s 'Nimbis', the scent of falling meteors.
MADDIE PHINNEY
PODCAST CO-HOST, NOSE CANDY
Maddie Phinney is a writer, podcaster, and perfumer based in Marseille. She co-hosts Nose Candy podcast, is the perfumer behind Centerfold by Hollywood Gifts, and regularly speaks and writes on the relationship between perfume and culture. You can read her writing at perfumeenjoyer.substack.com.
MATTHEW J. SANCHEZ
PERFUMER, MATTEO PARFUMS
Matthew J. Sánchez is the Perfumer & Founder/CEO of MATTEO PARFUMS, a green science, fine fragrance company backed by L’Oréal. Matthew is both an Art and Olfaction Awards Finalist (2022) and Honoree (2024), for Celadawn and Lovers' Dew, respectively.
MAURICIO GARCIA
PERFUMER, HERBCRAFT PERFUMERY
Mauricio Garcia is an animistic perfumer living in South San Francisco. His inspiration is born from the fragrant ecologies of the Pacific west coast and perfume's origins as sacred smoke, and shared through his line of fragrances—Herbcraft Perfumery.
SHABNAM TAVAKOL
PERFUMER, KISMET
Shabnam Tavakol studied at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery. After graduating, she worked with large-scale fragrance houses and master perfumers in Paris and New York City before founding Kismet Olfactive.
TERRY CARTER
PERFUMER, TRAVERTINE ATELIER
Terry is a Paris-trained perfumer, legal scholar, and businessman with over 20 years’ experience. He collaborates with Osmo Labs on fragrance innovation and formulates bespoke products for elite clients. His award-winning work has been featured by Forbes, HuffPost, NPR, and major networks
TIANNA BLUE
EDUCATOR, THE PERFUMERS' STUDIO
Tianna is the Head Perfumer at The Perfumer’s Studio LA, where she oversees a multilevel education program, laboratory services, and fragrance development. She is also the founder of ATARAXIA, an independent fragrance brand providing creative services and fragrance design.
PRELIMINARY JUDGES: ARTISAN AND INDIE SEMI FINALS
DAVE KERN
FOUNDER, AMERICAN PERFUMER
Dave Kern Co-Founded American Perfumer in 2018. He is a three-time finalist for the Art and Olfaction Award in the Independent Category, winning the award in 2019. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.
MIRIAM VARELDZIS
PERFUMER AND EDUCATOR
Miriam brings 30 years of experience, with roles at IFF and Robertet and early mentorship from Ann Gottlieb. She has built a career as a fragrance evaluator, and educator, while founding the award-winning 40notes Perfume line in 2010 and Palette Naturals in 2017. In 2024 she launched Creative Intuitive Perfumery, where
she combines her love of natural perfumery with her infinite curiosity for spirituality, intuition and the energetics of scent,
STEVEN GONTARSKI
RETAILER, LUCKYSCENT | SCENT BAR
Artist and musician Steven Gontarski has been the manager of the two LA Scent Bar boutiques for the past 16 years. He hosts the Luckyscent Podcast 'It's Just Perfume' and the Luckyscent Scent Tours on YouTube as well as forging a community centered around his eponymous YouTube channel focused on perfume, art and culture.
FINALIST JUDGES: Artisan and independent categories
DAG LASKA
DIRECTOR, SON VENIN
NORWAY
Dag Laska is a Norwegian creative working at the intersection of scent, design, and emotion. As the founder of Son Venïn, his work explores the subconscious language of perfume through minimalist compositions and clarity. Drawing on Nordic sensibilities and conceptual storytelling, Dag approaches perfumery as an artistic dialogue between memory, material, and mind.
DENYSE BEAULIEU
WRITER
CANADA
Denyse Beaulieu is a Canadian writer, translator, educator, and instructor. She is the author of bilingual perfume blog Grain de Musc as well as the memoir The Perfume Lover: A Personal History of Scent (Collins, 2012; St. Martin’s Press, 2013), a book about her collaboration with French perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour to create the L'Artisan Parfumeur fragrance Seville à l’Aube.
DIANA AVELLANEDA
DIRECTOR, MUSEO DEL PERFUME
ARGENTINA
Diana Avellaneda holds a PhD in History and Theory of the Arts from the University of Buenos Aires and has directed the Buenos Aires Perfume Museum since 2003, and is a founding member of CLEHAP. She has organized international conferences on perfume history, taught art and perfume history, and participated in global conversations on scent culture, including MUPEX 2025 and engagements with museums and cultural centers in the Americas.
KENTARO KUZUWA
FOUNDER, CREATIVE DIRECTOR
JAPAN
Worked as a music director at a major Japanese record label, overseeing musicians across a wide range of genres. After traveling the world, returned to Japan to take over the family business, Moriyama INC., founded in 1905. In 2018, established the perfume brand EDIT(h), reimagining the traditions and craftsmanship of the Japanese seal heritage. Serves as founder and creative director of the brand.
LUCA TURIN
SCIENTIST AND PERFUME CRITIC
U.K.
A research professor at the University of Buckingham, Luca Turin’s day job centers on science, with notable work on the mechanism of smell. He has authored and co-authored three perfume guides, including Parfums: Le Guide (1992, translated 2019)), The Secret of Scent (2007), Perfumes: The A-Z Guide (2008) co-written with Tania Sanchez, The Little Book of Perfumes (with Sanchez, 2011) and several more. He now writes on a popular Substack blog format.
PATRICK BOATENG II
FOUNDER
UNITED STATES
Patrick is partner and co-founder of Goliath, a multidisciplinary art agency, specializing in artist representation, commercial partnerships, and advisory services. His passion for art and design sparked an interest in exploring other creative cultures, which led to a brief career as a Public Diplomacy Officer in the U.S. State Department as well as an entrepreneurial adventure with Ceylon, a brand that solved pressing skin issues for people of color world
MATTHEW FROST
VP CATEGORY & NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, FINE FRAGRANCE, MANE
UNITED STATES
Matthew Frost is a veteran fragrance executive currently serving as the Vice President of Fine Fragrance Category and New Business Development at MANE, a leading French family-owned flavor and fragrance manufacturer.
NEWCOMER AWARD
ALEJANDRO SOTO RODRIGUEZ
FIRST SECRETARY, CHILEAN FOREIGN SERVICE
CHILE/MEXICO
Currently serving in El Salvador, Alejandro Soto Rodriguez’ former postings were in Egypt, and Spain, and he begins his mission in Mexico City in 2026. A perfume collector and historian, he co-founded Andes Aromas and CLEHAP, promoting olfactive culture through international events and academic work in history and curatorial practices.
CHI-WAI TANG
FRAGRANCE EXPERT
CHINA
Chi Wai Tang (PhD) is a cell and molecular biologist and fragrance expert. Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English, he consults on fragrance evaluation, market insights, and boutique development for leading global perfume companies. Additionally, he writes fragrance reviews, lectures internationally, and has conducted fragrance training for companies including Dior, Guerlain, Penhaligon’s, Rance1795, Shilla Singapore and numerous fragrance brands in Asia.
KAREN GILBERT
PERFUMER
U.K.
Karen Gilbert, a fragrance professional since the 1990s, combines industry and natural perfumery experience to teach practical, accessible perfumery online and in her studio in England. She is the host of The Perfume Making Podcast and a meditation teacher, and guides students from hobby to business with real-world, inclusive, and commercially grounded instruction.
LORENZO CAVALLARO
VP FINE FRAGRANCE NOAM, MANE
UNITED STATES
Bio to come.
MATTHIAS JANKE
DISTRIBUTOR
NAMIBIA
Matthias Janke is the founder of Strictly Selective Cosmetics GmbH, a niche brands distributor for luxury cosmetics in the EU, Northern-/Southern-/Eastern Europe.
RAWYA CATTO
GENERAL MANAGER, CPL AROMAS - DUBAI SALES
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Rawya Catto is the General Manager of CPL Aromas Dubai Sales and an ISIPCA graduate with over 18 years of experience across global and regional fragrance houses. A recognized Fine Fragrance and Middle East expert, she combines business insight with creative vision, guiding brands to craft scents that reflect the region’s cultural richness and shape the future of perfumery.
SPYROS DROSOPOULOS
PERFUMER
GREECE
Spyros Drosopoulos is the founder and perfumer of BARUTI. In 2009, a scent workshop initiated a transition from scientific research to niche perfumery. In addition to running BARUTI, he also creates for other brands, conducts live scent performances, has explored AI applications for perfumery with Algorithmic Perfumery by EveryHuman, and is a regular instructor with the Institute for Art and Olfaction in Los Angeles.
EXPERIMENTAL AWARD
ALISA BANKS
ARTIST
USA
Alisa Banks is a visual artist who investigates connections between contemporary culture, her Louisiana Creole heritage, and the African diaspora. Alisa’s interests include the performative potential of the book and investigating links to the material culture of her ancestors. Her artists’ books, writings, and textile collages are housed in several private and public collections, including the Smithsonian Institution, the US Library of Congress, and The British Library.
ANDREAS KELLER
ACADEMIC
USA
Andreas Keller, the author of The Philosophy of Olfactory Perception, is an academic with PhDs in neuroscience and philosophy who is interested in smells. He was the owner and operator of Olfactory Art Keller, an art gallery in New York’s Chinatown that encouraged artists working in all mediums to experiment with scents as objects of aesthetic appreciation by providing a dedicated exhibition space for olfactory art.
KAROLA BRAGA
ARTIST
BRAZIL
Karola Braga explores smell as structure, discourse, and presence through installations, sculptures, and site-specific works. She has exhibited internationally at Desert X AlUla, Bienal do Mercosul, Craft Contemporary, Paço das Artes, and La Nueva Fábrica. Her residencies include Cité Internationale des Arts, Kooshk Residency, LABVERDE, and La Nueva Fábrica. In 2025, she was the recipient of the Art and Olfaction Award for Experimental Work with Scent.
OSWALDO MACIA
ARTIST
U.K./COLOMBIA
A Colombian sculptor from Cartagena de Indias, Maciá works between London and Cartagena. His olfactory acoustic sculptures respond to time, place, and environmental chang, and he has been exhibited at Tate Modern, Venice Biennial, and Manifesta. His works are held in major collections. Maciá received the 2018 Art & Olfaction Experimental award, Bogotá’s 2015 public sound sculpture commission, and the 2011 Bienal de Cuenca’s first prize.
SIMON NIEDENTHAL
PROFESSOR, RESEARCHER
SWEDEN
Simon Niedenthal is a professor of Interaction Design at Malmö University in Sweden. He researches olfaction in physical, digital and interactive environments.His aim is to contribute to new applications in the educational, rehabilitative, playful and aesthetic uses of scent.