It is not every day that one of the world’s most prestigious craft prizes lands right on our shores. Now open at the National Gallery, the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize 2026 marks the travelling exhibition’s first presentation in Southeast Asia, bringing the global conversation on contemporary craft closer to home.
This year, 30 finalists were selected from more than 5,100 submissions across 133 countries and regions, with works spanning various mediums like ceramics, textiles, glass, metalwork, lacquer and jewellery. They were then carefully assessed by a board of jury members across different factors before a final decision was made.
The winner? Jongjin Park, a ceramicist from South Korea, whose work ‘Strata of Illusion’ made use of ceramic slip shaped in a novel way, almost mimicking the daintiness of paper—a fluid take on ceramics that plays with how a material is perceived. There were also two special mentions: Graziano Visintin, who crafted ‘Collier’, a pair of necklaces made up of tiny gold cubes and decorated with niello, an ancient metalworking technique. The other special mention went to Baba Tree Master Weavers in collaboration with Álvaro Catalán de Ocón, for ‘Frafra Tapestry’, a large woven work made with elephant grass and shaped through the hands of master weavers.
But beyond the names that took home top honours, the Craft Prize has always been about giving craft artists around the world a larger platform, placing their work within a global conversation. First conceived by former creative director Jonathan Anderson and now helmed by Sheila Loewe, president of the Loewe Foundation, the Prize continues to champion craft as a space for cultural exchange and artistic possibility.
And speaking of collaboration, Olivier Gabet, Director of the Department of Decorative Arts at the Louvre Museum and one of this year’s jury members, sees that as one of the most important things about craft. Its power comes from people, allowing them to stay grounded in a culture or civilisation, even as the work travels beyond its place of origin. He also describes it as “a sort of universal language”, tied to the histories of every group and able to speak across generations while bridging borders.
A common thread running through this year’s works was also shed light on by Kunimasa Aoki, last year’s winner who returns this year as a jury member. When asked how a piece of craft can still feel alive in the present despite using age-old techniques, he mentioned the Japanese phrase onko chishin, often understood as learning from the old to gain new knowledge. It spotlights the art of constant innovation, and how craft continues to move forward today while still carrying storied histories with it.
And that is what makes it such a proud moment to have this rich conversation right here at home. Below, we spotlight 7 things to know about the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize 2026.
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It marks the Craft Prize’s first presentation in Southeast Asia
Held at the National Gallery from 13 May to 14 June 2026, this year’s edition brings the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize to Southeast Asia for the first time, placing Singapore within the Prize’s global circuit. The winning piece and the works of all 30 finalists are on view at the museum, with free entry daily from 10am to 7pm.
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Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez join the jury for the first time
As Loewe enters a new creative chapter, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez join the Craft Prize jury for the first time this year. Their presence brings the house’s next era into conversation with one of its key cultural platforms, alongside a jury chaired by Sheila Loewe and made up of leading figures from design, architecture and museum curatorship.
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30 global finalists’s works are on display
This year’s exhibition brings together 30 finalists selected from more than 5,100 submissions across 133 countries and regions, with works spanning various mediums including ceramics, textiles, glass, metalwork, lacquer and jewellery. Together, the works show how wide contemporary craft can be, moving from hand-built forms to material experiments that feel completely unexpected.
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Jongjin Park takes home the top prize
South Korean ceramicist Jongjin Park was named this year’s winner for ‘Strata of Illusion‘, a partially collapsed, seat-like sculpture made from layers of what he calls “humble paper” coated in coloured porcelain slip. During firing, the paper burns away, leaving behind a ceramic body. The result is a work that looks deceivingly fluid from afar, through an illusion that still holds the weight and complexity of ceramics up close.
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Graziano Visintin receives a special mention for 'Collier'
Italian jewellery designer Graziano Visintin received a special mention for ‘Collier’, a pair of necklaces made from tiny gold cubes and decorated with niello, an ancient metalworking technique. Built from thin sheets of gold, the work allows a historic process to take on a contemporary form.
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Singapore’s very own Adelene Koh is among this year’s finalists
Among the 30 finalists is Taiwan-based Singaporean book artist and conservator Adelene Koh, whose work ‘Endless’ gives the exhibition a closer home-ground connection. Created through traditional bookbinding techniques, the piece reimagines the usually hidden endband of a book as a circular sculptural form, turning thread and folded paper into what looks almost like an architectural object. Koh is also the second Singaporean to be shortlisted for the Craft Prize, following Ashley Yeo in 2018.
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Baba Tree Master Weavers and Álvaro Catalán de Ocón receive a special mention for 'Frafra Tapestry'
The second special mention went to Baba Tree Master Weavers in collaboration with Álvaro Catalán de Ocón for ‘Frafra Tapestry’, a large-scale woven work made with elephant grass. Based on drone imagery of circular adobe housing in Ghana’s Gurunsi region, the piece brings together architecture, weaving and collective making, with the work shaped through the hands of eight master weavers—collaboration at its best.
