30 Selected Artists at LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2026

Many of the works in this year’s shortlist have approached making as a careful negotiation between balance, instability and tension. Ordered systems have been subtly unsettled: restrained palettes are interrupted by sudden shifts in colour, smooth surfaces are breached by moments of rupture, and precise geometries are softened, warped or displaced. References to the natural world have informed both material choice and process, and growth, decay and cyclical transformation are embedded through acts of cutting, bending, weaving and layering. Cultural traditions have provided further points of orientation: practices drawn from basketry, textile, dyeing and architectural making have been reinterpreted through contemporary contexts, scales and collaborations. Taken together, the works position craft as a living language, shaped by continuity and interruption alike.

This year’s finalists were chosen by a panel of experts from over 5,100 submissions by artists representing 133 countries and regions. The 30 finalists, representing 19 countries and regions, work across a range of media including ceramics, woodwork, textiles, furniture, bookbinding, glass, metal, jewellery and lacquer. In their deliberations, the panel sought to identify the most outstanding works in terms of technical accomplishment, skill, innovation and artistic vision.

Sheila Loewe, President of the LOEWE FOUNDATION, said: The Craft Prize continues to reveal the extraordinary diversity and ambition of contemporary craft. The works shortlisted for the 2026 edition demonstrate how deeply rooted traditions can be reimagined through innovation, skill and imagination. Bringing this exhibition to Singapore reflects the global dialogue at the heart of the Prize and our ongoing commitment to supporting artists at pivotal moments in their careers.

The exhibition will be on display at the National Gallery Singapore, home to the world’s largest collection of Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, comprised of more than 8,000 artworks spanning the 19th century to the present. Previous iterations of the Prize have been exhibited at The Design Museum, London (2018); Isamu Noguchi’s indoor stone garden ‘Heaven’ at the Sogetsu Kaikan, Tokyo (2019); digitally in a joint presentation with Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (2021); Seoul Museum of Craft Art (SeMoCA), Seoul (2022); in Isamu Noguchi’s studio at the Noguchi Museum, New York (2023); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2024) and Thyssen- Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid (2025).

The winner will be announced on 12 May 2026 and awarded €50,000, with the special mentions each receiving €5,000.

The selected finalists for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2026 are (in alphabetical order, with country or region):

Baba Tree Master Weavers × Álvaro Catalán de Ocón (Spain).
Jobe Burns (United Kingdom).
Soohyun Chou (Republic of Korea).
Morten Løbner Espersen (Denmark).
Liam Fleming (Australia).
Oskar Gustafsson (Sweden).
Susan Halls (United Kingdom).
Gjertrud Hals (Norway).
Chia-Chen Hsieh (Taiwan Region).
Adelene Koh (Singapore).
Maria Koshenkova (Denmark).
Jong In Lee (Republic of Korea).
Somyeong Lee (Republic of Korea).
Misako Nakahira (Japan).
Fadekemi Ogunsanya (Nigeria).
Jieun Park (Republic of Korea).
Jongjin Park (Republic of Korea).
Rafael Pérez Fernández (España).
Dorothea Prühl (Germany).
Kirstie Rea (Australia).
Vivi Rosa (Brazil).
Hervé Sabin (Haiti).
Xanthe Somers (Zimbabwe).
Coco Sung (Republic of Korea).
Nobuyuki Tanaka (Japan).
Graziano Visintin (Italy).
Rayah Wauters (Belgium).
Nan Wei (China).
Jane Yang-D’Haene (United States of America).
Ayano Yoshizumi (Japan).


The 2026 Experts Panel that selected the 30 finalists is composed of:

• Antonia Boström, former Director of Collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
• Scott Chaseling, glass artist and LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2025 finalist.
• Hyeyoung Cho, Chairwoman at the Korea Association of Art and Design.
• Michelle Millar Fischer, Curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
• Sara Flynn, ceramicist and LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2017 finalist.
• Satoko Fujiwara, LOEWE VP Leather Goods Merchandising & Buying Strategy.
• Amy.Greenspon, Art Advisor and independent curator.
• Wolfgang Lösche, former Head of Exhibition and Fairs at the Chamber of Skilled Trades, Munich.
• Ibrahim Mahama, mixed media artist.
• Nifemi Marcus-Bello, artist and designer and LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2025 finalist.
• Didi NG Wing Yin, wood artist and LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2025 finalist.
• Anatxu Zabalbeascoa (Executive Secretary), architecture and design correspondent for El País.

The Jury that will select the winner of the 2026 Craft Prize is composed of:

• Kunimasa Aoki, winner of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2025.
• Minsuk Cho, architect and winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2014.
• Frida Escobedo, essayist and architect.
• Naoto Fukasawa, designer and Director of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, Tokyo.
• Olivier Gabet, Director of the Department of Decorative Arts at the Louvre Museum, Paris.
• Sheila Loewe (Chairwoman), President of the LOEWE FOUNDATION.
• Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, LOEWE creative directors.
• Magdalene Odundo, ceramicist.
• Deyan Sudjic, essayist and Director Emeritus of the Design Museum, London.
• Abraham Thomas, Curator of Modern Architecture, Design and Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
• Patricia Urquiola, architect and industrial designer.
• Wang Shu, architect and Pritzker Prize winner.
• Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, architecture and design correspondent for El País.

About The LOEWE Foundation
The LOEWE FOUNDATION was established as a private cultural foundation in 1988 by Enrique Loewe, a fourth-generation member of LOEWE’s founding family. Today, under the direction of his daughter Sheila Loewe, the Foundation continues to promote creativity, organise educational programs and protect cultural heritage in the fields of craft, design, photography, poetry and dance. The Foundation was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts by the Spanish government in 2002.

About National Gallery Singapore
National Gallery Singapore is a leading visual arts institution and the largest modern and contemporary art museum in Southeast Asia. Dedicated to making art accessible to all, the Gallery engages audiences of all ages through its exhibitions, educational programmes, and public festivals. Home to the world’s largest public collection of Singapore and Southeast Asian art, the Gallery is redefining the region’s art history through pioneering research, strategic acquisitions, and thoughtfully curated exhibitions.