Eighteen women accused academy member Jean-Claude Arnault of sexual harassment. The prize winner will be announced in 2019.
Protesters outside the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on April 19. Source: Fredrik Persson/EPA
The Swedish Academy, the independent cultural institution that has awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature since 1901, has announced it will not award the prize due to the scandal. The 2018 and 2019 winners will both be announced next year, Artforum reports.
“The active members of the Swedish Academy are of course fully aware that the present crisis of confidence places high demands on a long-term and robust work for change. We find it necessary to commit time to recovering public confidence in the Academy before the next laureate can be announced,” Anders Olsson, the interim permanent secretary, says.
The scandal that prompted the decision by the institution began in November last year, when the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter wrote about 18 women who accused photographer Jean-Claude Arnault of sexual assault.
Jean-Claude Arnault, a prominent figure on the Swedish cultural scene, was accused of using his ties to harass and assault women. He is married to writer Katarina Frostenson, a member of the Academy. She also chairs a club in Stockholm, which was partially funded by the Academy, that organises exhibitions and other events.
The Nobel Foundation vowed its support for the Academy in connection with the situation. “Their decision underscores the seriousness of the situation an,” board chair of the Nobel Foundation Carl-Henrik Heldin said.
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