MEDIA ROOM
ATHENS, 2026
We’re excited to bring the 12th edition of the Art and Olfaction Awards to Athens, in Greece. In celebration of twelve years of celebrating exceptional work with scent, we'll be programming several exciting programs around the awards, including the seventh edition of the Experimental Scent Summit.
June 9: The 7th Experimental Scent Summit
at ImpactHub, Athens
June 11: The 12th Art and Olfaction Awards
at Gazarte, Athens
Our Instagram handle is: @artandolfaction
Our hashtag is: #AOAwards, #AOAwards2025
For media inquiries, please email hello@artandolfaction.com
MISSION
The Art and Olfaction Award is a highly competitive and selective international award that is designed to raise interest and awareness for active independent, artisan and experimental perfumers from all countries.
Our hope is that by shining a spotlight on perfumery’s most outstanding creators, we will help generate support for independent practices with scent, as a whole.
The Art and Olfaction Awards are a program of The Institute for Art and Olfaction (IAO), a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles, CA.
AWARDS AND CATEGORIES
Art and Olfaction Award for Independent Perfume
Judged blindly, there are ten finalists and two winners in this category
Art and Olfaction Award for Artisan Perfume
Judged blindly, there are ten finalists and two winners in this category
Art and Olfaction Sadakichi Award for Experimental Work with Scent
There are five finalists and one winner in this category
Art and Olfaction Newcomer Award
Judged blindly, there is one winner in this category
Art and Olfaction Contribution to Scent Culture Award
This is a discretionary award. There is one winner in this category.
Art and Olfaction Visionary Award
This is a discretionary award. There is one winner in this category.
QUICK FACTS
The yearly event is called 'The Art and Olfaction Awards'
The award statuette is called 'The Golden Pear'
We announce the finalists in a special event that takes place in March or April, of each year.
We announce the winners in a public award ceremony in May or June of each year.
The award ceremony changes locations on a yearly basis. Past locations have included London, Amsterdam, Berlin, online (during the Covid years), Miami, Lisbon, and Los Angeles.
The Art and Olfaction Awards had their first event in 2014, and were founded by Saskia Wilson-Brown, based on an idea proposed by Bruno Fazzolari.
The awards judges assess submissions anonymously, and are selected from the IAO's global community of perfumers and fragrance industry professionals.
DOWNLOADS
Please find our logos and select images for the 2026 Art and Olfaction Awards as a downloadable zip file, below.