The Chanel Culture Fund has named 10 artists who will each receive an unconditional award of €100,000, or about $116,000, as recipients of its 2026 Next Prize. The winners—who work across visual art, music, design, performance, and film—will also join a two-year mentorship program, facilitated by the fashion house’s partners, including the Royal College of Art.
Of the recipients, six work in the visual arts: Pan Daijing, Bárbara Sánchez-Kane, Álvaro Urbano, Emeka Ogboh, Pol Taburet, and Ayoung Kim. This marks the third edition of the prize. Previous winners have included Dalton Paula, Tolia Astakhishvili, and Precious Okoyomon.
“The Chanel Next Prize creates the conditions for artists to thrive on their own terms. Each winner is a trailblazer shaping the now and defining the next with creativity and audacity,” said Yana Peel, Chanel’s global head of arts, culture, and heritage, in a statement. “Following their journeys will be nothing short of thrilling.”
Chinese artist and composer Pan Daijing brings together experimental music, contemporary art, and cinema in large-scale, site-specific installations. Last year, for the exhibition “Sudden Place,” she populated the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis with film, sound, painting, and architectural interventions.
Designer and artist Bárbara Sánchez-Kane’s practice centers on the body as a site of power and desire. Working across sculpture, painting, performance, and installation, the Mexican artist showed at the Venice Biennale in 2024 and launched her genderless, eponymous fashion label in 2016.
Spanish artist Álvaro Urbano is known for his hyperrealistic replicas of botanical elements, which he incorporates into site-specific installations. For Urbano, plants function as symbols to explore social and cultural themes, including the queer experience. His work has been included in institutional exhibitions such as the Singapore Biennale and Taipei Biennial.
Nigerian artist Emeka Ogboh creates multisensory installations that draw on field recordings of urban soundscapes. Ogboh’s work has been presented at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art and Tate Modern, as well as international exhibitions such as Documenta and the São Paulo Biennale.
French painter Pol Taburet is recognized for a practice that combines traditional painting techniques with airbrushing and draws on references ranging from his Caribbean roots to contemporary pop culture and Western art history. Represented by Mendes Wood DM, his work is held in major collections, including the Museo Reina Sofía and the KADIST Foundation.
South Korean artist Ayoung Kim works across video, sound, and generative media. Her speculative, immersive works use 3D game engines to critique how algorithms and the gig economy shape both physical and digital realities.
According to The Art Newspaper, the winners will first gather as a group during a visit timed to the opening week of the 2026 Venice Biennale in May.
