Craft Prize
The “Craft Prize” is one of the more visible programs supported by the Loewe Foundation. This prize, which seeks to acknowledge and support international artisans who ‘demonstrate an exceptional ability to create objects of superior aesthetic value,' provides the winner with a cash prize of 50,000 euros. Winners of the prize invariably gain both recognition in the press and ever greater market acceptance for their work.
The “Craft Prize” is also significant insofar as it attempts to identify work that “reinterprets existing knowledge to make it relevant today while reflecting its maker’s personal language and distinct hand.” Effectively emphasizing the need to push cultural and maker traditions forward in new ways, the Loewe Foundation prize serves to “highlight the continuing contribution of craft to the culture of our time.”
Process for Being Considered
The process for entering and being considered for the award is not open-ended. There are very specific requirements and guidelines that must be followed. First among these is the competition is open to any person of any gender who is over 18 years of age. Second, entries must be an original work that is handmade or partially handmade, which falls “within an area of applied arts such as ceramics, bookbinding, enamelwork, jewelry, lacquer, metal, furniture, leather, textiles, glass, paper, wood, etc.” Third, the item must be a one-of-a-kind piece made in the last five years that has not yet won an award. And finally, the item must “demonstrate artistic intent” – which, in-and-of-itself, provides evidence of how the line between craft and art has become increasingly blurred over time. An experts panel identifies and selects finalists for the prize, with a jury selecting the craft prize winner. Both the finalists and the winner are acknowledged through an exhibition and the accompanying exhibition catalogue that can be viewed in New York or online.
Craft Prize Winners
The juried winner of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize for 2023 is Eriko Inazaki. Eriko was selected for her intricate ceramic sculpture, which the jury found to be an “exceptional take on ornamentation in ceramics the like of which they have never seen.”
The jury has also awarded two special mentions.
The first special mention went to the work of Moe Watanabe. The work involved a walnut box, which recalls the ancient Japanese tradition of Ikebana vase making, that paid tribute to the cyclical turns of the season. The work was chosen “for its celebration of the sheer materiality of bark, and its use of rivets which references architectural construction and the tradition of mending.”
The second special mention went to Dominique Zinkpè. The work, titled “The Watchers,” was a detailed wall sculpture made of individual wood pieces. Small Ibéji figurines used in the work evoked traditional Yoruba beliefs connected with multiple births. The work was chosen “for its sculptural reinterpretation of traditional beliefs and its expansion of what contemporary craft can be.”
Finalists for the craft prize 2023 can be viewed online at the following address: https://craftprizeexhibition.loewe.com/artists. Samples of their work presented to the jury can be seen in the accompanying slide show. Submissions for 2024 will begin
Frequently Asked Questions
The Craft Prize website provides a number of answers to frequently asked questions that might be of interest to our readers. These include:
What are the requirements for participation in this prize?
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