The Loewe Foundation Craft Prize: A Global Stage for the Handmade
The Loewe Foundation has unveiled the thirty exceptional makers shortlisted for its 2026 Craft Prize, heralding the ninth chapter of an award that has become a cornerstone of the contemporary craft world. Selected by an international Expert Panel in Madrid, these finalists represent the zenith of global craftsmanship, their works set to be displayed this spring at Singapore’s National Gallery. The prize, established in 2016 by the fashion house’s foundation, was born from a deep-seated belief in the cultural and artistic significance of the handmade. With a generous award of €50,000, it seeks out and celebrates those artists who masterfully blend artistic vision, technical precision, and genuine innovation. More than a simple contest, the prize frames craft as a vital, dynamic dialogue—a field where age-old traditions converse with modern perspectives, and where the intimate trace of the maker’s hand meets bold, conceptual thinking.
This year’s cohort of finalists beautifully illustrates the astonishing breadth of this dialogue. The shortlisted pieces encompass an entire universe of materials and disciplines: intricate textiles, profound ceramics, luminous glass, forged metal, delicate jewellery, carved wood, refined lacquer, and meticulous bookbinding. Some works are deeply rooted in ancestral techniques, honouring the knowledge passed down through generations. Others audaciously push their materials into uncharted, sculptural realms, challenging our very definitions of form and function. This carefully curated selection asks us to consider where craft belongs in our modern cultural landscape, elegantly straddling the realms of art, design, heritage, and luxury. It proves that craftsmanship is not a relic of the past but a living, evolving language of human expression.
Among the standout works are those that exemplify this fusion of global tradition and contemporary context. Fra Fra Tapestry #2, a collaboration between the Baba Tree Master Weavers in Ghana and Spanish designer Álvaro Catalán de Ocón, is a powerful example. This large-scale textile translates drone-captured imagery of circular Gurunsi architecture into a woven masterpiece, merging digital planning in Madrid with ancestral basketry techniques in Ghana. It transforms patterns of community, ritual, and collective labour into a tangible contemporary artifact. Similarly, Adelene Koh’s Endless takes a humble, functional detail—the reinforcing endband of a book spine—and reimagines it as an mesmerizing circular sculpture, revealing the hidden poetry in everyday craft.
The shortlist further highlights artists who engage in profound material conversations, often with their own local industrial or natural heritage. Jobe Burns’ Laying Vessel, a commanding steel form, speaks directly to the history of metalworking in England’s Midlands, imbuing industrial materiality with a quiet, ceremonial presence. From Taiwan, Chia-Chen Hsieh’s Rhythm in Grid represents a breathtaking evolution of bamboo craft. Through the meticulous assembly of thousands of slender strips into a dense, undulating grid, the artist coaxes a rigid material into expressing fluid, rippling movement, creating a contemporary sculpture that hums with rhythm and precision. Each piece, in its own way, demonstrates how personal vocabulary and deep material understanding can reshape a tradition for today’s world.
The formidable task of selecting a single winner from this extraordinary group falls to a thirteen-member jury comprised of luminaries from across the creative industries. This panel, which includes the 2025 prize winner Kunimasa Aoki, LOEWE’s creative directors Jack McCollough and Lázaro Hernandez, revered ceramicist Magdalene Odundo, architect Frida Escobedo, and Olivier Gabet of the Louvre Museum, brings a multiplicity of critical perspectives from design, architecture, criticism, and curation. Their collective expertise ensures that the ultimate decision honors a work that not only displays peerless skill but also carries significant conceptual depth and contributes meaningfully to the ongoing story of craft.
Beyond the spotlight of the annual award ceremony, the Loewe Foundation has diligently built a lasting platform for this global community. Through its digital exhibition space and ‘The Room’—an online archive housing over 2,800 works by past participants—the initiative ensures the conversation continues. It positions the Craft Prize not as a fleeting event, but as a growing, permanent showcase for the finest in international craftsmanship. The physical manifestation of this mission will be on view in Singapore from May 13 to June 14, 2026, where the public can engage with these thirty stories of material, skill, and imagination. The winner will be announced on May 12, but the true triumph lies in the collective celebration of the handmade, affirming its indispensable place in our shared cultural future.
