The biennial Nissan Art Award isn't new now, and it wasn't really new when it began in 2013, either — something Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn is fully aware of.
"I don't think it's a unique approach from our side," he tells me, "but I think we are probably more focused."
Sitting in a leather chair on the second floor of a palazzo beside a Venice canal in Italy — on the opening night of the Venice Biennale — Ghosn is switching gears as he moves into the role of an art patron and focuses his attention on emerging contemporary artists from Japan. He has traveled to Venice to show both his commitment to the world of contemporary art and to promote the second edition of the Nissan award, which will soon release the list of finalists for 2015.