ExxonMobil Corporation
(Received Award as the Mobil Corporation)
Irving, Texas

Bestowed 1994

ExxonMobil [formerly Mobil Corporation] has been supporting the arts since the early 1960s. The company believes that its support to the arts enriches society and creates a more beneficial environment for all. In 1993, ExxonMobil committed more than $13 million in philanthropic, advertising and marketing support to the arts.

ExxonMobil has benefited the arts, business and the community by:

• Becoming the first business in the U.S. to undertake a major sponsorship on public television. Since 1971 the company has invested more than $100 million in “Masterpiece Theatre” on PBS. Additionally, ExxonMobil has supported other public television series such as “Mystery!, The Ascent of Man,” as well as “Life on Earth” and its sequel “The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth.” Public television programs underwritten by ExxonMobil have won more than 30 Emmy Awards and have been viewed by millions worldwide.
• Sponsoring major exhibitions, including the traveling exhibitions “From Sea to Shining Sea: A Portrait of America, Photographs by Hiroji Kubota” organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and “Sculpture of Indonesia,” organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. The company was the first business to provide special grants to museums, enabling them to remain open free to the public one night each week. This tripled the number of visitors to participating museums.
• Awarding, since 1980, the Pegasus Prize to recognize works from countries whose literature is rarely translated and published in English. Recent prize-winning works include: “Night,” by Bilge Karasu, Turkey; “The Year of the Frog,” by Martin Simecka, the Czech and Slovak Republics; and “Turbulence,” by Jia Pingwa, China.
• Devoting its Op-Ed advertising space to special messages designed to encourage interest in, and support of, the arts. These ads appear in major national publications and are read by more than 10 million individuals annually.
• Providing general operating support to more than 250 arts and cultural organizations each year. ExxonMobil executives also serve on the boards of directors of cultural organizations in the company's operating areas.