Open Call for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2020. 4th edition

Submissions now open

Craft is the essence of LOEWE. As a house, we are about craft in the purest sense of the word. That is where our modernity lies, and it will always be relevant, Anderson has stated.

After a months-long process, which saw over 2500 submissions whittled down to 29 finalists, our jury has reviewed the shortlist and crowned Genta Ishizuka for his work Surface Tactility #11, 2018 as their overall winner for the 2019 edition.

Key Dates· LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2020

1 July 2019: Entry site opens to submit works
30 October 2019: Submissions close
31 January 2020: Shortlist of finalists announced
Spring 2020: Winner announced
Spring 2020: Exhibition of finalist works in Paris


About the Craft Prize
The LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize seeks to acknowledge and support international artisans of any age (over 18) or gender who demonstrate an exceptional ability to create objects of superior aesthetic value. By identifying work that reinterprets existing knowledge to make it relevant today while reflecting its maker’s personal language and distinct hand, the LOEWE FOUNDATION aims to highlight the continuing contribution of craft to the culture of our time.


All entries should
Fall within an area of applied arts, such as ceramics, bookbinding, enamelwork, jewellery, lacquer, metal, furniture, leather, textiles, glass, paper, wood, etc.
Be an original work, handmade or partly handmade.
Have been created in the last five years.
Be one-of-a-kind.
Have won no prizes previously.
Demonstrate artistic intent.

The Prize for the winning entry is 50,000 euros. The winning work selected by the Jury, as well as the works of the finalists selected by the Experts Panel, will be included in an exhibition and accompanying catalogue “LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2020” on view in Paris in the spring of 2020 or any other location that LOEWE FOUNDATION may deem appropriate.


How to participate
Read the Rules of Entry and make sure you comply with all requirements. All participants must be professional artisans 18 years or older. Entries may be made by an individual or collective (as a ‘group submission’). All nationalities are welcome.

Make sure the work: 
Demonstrates artistic intent in addition to technical proficiency.
Is an original piece, handmade or partly handmade.
Is recently created (in the last five years), and one-of-a-kind, and has not won any prizes previously.
Is innovative, in the sense that it updates tradition.
Falls within an area of the applied arts, such as ceramics, bookbinding, enamelwork, jewellery, lacquer, metal, furniture, leather, textiles, glass, paper, wood, etc.

Complete the online registration in English 
You need 2 to 5 photographs of the work (or series) and optionally a video.
Write a brief conceptual statement about the work.
Submit your application by 30 October 2019.


> Rules of Entry LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2020
> FAQ's LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2020
> Registration open to 30 October 2019 (23:59 CET)


Experts Panel
An Experts Panel will shortlist up to 30 Works from among all the entries submitted. These finalists (hereafter called the ‘Finalists’) will be then submitted to the Jury for their final decision. In this call, the Experts Panel will be composed of:

- Paula Aza, LOEWE Head of Architecture.
- Antonia Boström, Director of Collections at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
- Hyeyoung Cho, Secretary General at the Korea Craft and Design Foundation.
- Sara Flynn, ceramist and finalist of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2017.
- Koichi Io, metal artist and finalist of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2019.
- Krzysztof Lukasik, LOEWE accessories designer.
- Rodman Primack, Global Ambassador for Design Miami.
- Ramón Puig Cuyàs, jewellery artist.
- Sylvie Vandenhoucke, glass artist and finalist of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2017.
- Anatxu Zabalbeascoa (Executive Secretary), architecture and design correspondent for El País.


Jury
The Jury for this call will be made up of:

- Jonathan Anderson, LOEWE Creative Director.
- Naoto Fukasawa, designer and Director of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, Tokyo.
- Olivier Gabet, Director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.
- Genta Ishizuka, Winner of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize third edition.
- Hongnam Kim, President of the National Trust of Korea.
- Enrique Loewe, LOEWE FOUNDATION Honorary President.
- Wolfgang Lösche, Head of Exhibition and Fairs at the Chamber of Skilled Trades, Munich.
- Wang Shu, architect and Pritzker Prize winner.
- Deyan Sudjic, essayist and Director of Design Museum, London.
- Benedetta Tagliabue, architect and RIBA Stirling Prize winner.
- Patricia Urquiola, architect and industrial designer.
- Anatxu Zabalbeascoa (Chairwoman), architecture and design correspondent for El País.



The LOEWE FOUNDATION was established as a private cultural Foundation in 1988 by Enrique Loewe Lynch, a fourth-generation member of LOEWE’s founding family. Today, under the direction of his daughter Sheila Loewe, the Foundation continues to promote creativity, support educational programmes and safeguard heritage in the fields of poetry, dance, photography, art and craft. The Foundation was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts, the highest honour granted by the Spanish Government, in 2002.
One of the primary purposes for which the LOEWE FOUNDATION was established was to support design and craftsmanship.

More information:
web: www.loewe.com
blog | www.blogfundacionloewe.com
Instagram | @loewefoundation