The CHANEL Culture Fund has announced the recipients of its 2026 CHANEL Next Prize, awarding the biennial honour to ten artists working across visual art, performance, design, music and film. Now in its third edition since its launch in 2021, the prize recognises contemporary practitioners whose work is seen as shaping the future of culture through experimentation, cross-disciplinary practice and sustained influence.

This year’s cohort brings together artists from ten different countries, reflecting the prize’s international scope and its emphasis on global perspectives. The recipients are visual artist Álvaro Urbano; jazz musician Ambrose Akinmusire; fashion designer Andrea Peña; artist and filmmaker Ayoung Kim; fashion designer and artist Bárbara Sánchez-Kane; sound artist Emeka Ogboh; choreographer Marco da Silva Ferreira; experimental musician Pan Daijing; filmmaker Payal Kapadia; and painter Pol Taburet.

Administered by the CHANEL Culture Fund, the Next Prize aims to support artists at pivotal moments in their careers, offering both financial backing and long-term institutional support rather than a single project-based commission. While the Culture Fund has not publicly disclosed the financial details of the award, previous editions have emphasised mentorship, visibility and sustained collaboration as central components of the prize.

The selected artists span a wide range of practices and geographies. Several are known for working fluidly across disciplines, from sound, film and performance to fashion and visual art, reflecting the prize’s interest in hybrid forms and expanded definitions of cultural production. Past recipients of the CHANEL Next Prize have gone on to receive increased international exposure, with presentations at major museums, biennials and performance venues.

Since its inception, the CHANEL Culture Fund has positioned itself as a long-term patron of the arts, supporting institutions, artists and initiatives worldwide. The Next Prize sits alongside the Fund’s broader cultural programmes, which include partnerships with museums, artist residencies and commissions across contemporary art, cinema, dance and design.

With its third edition, the CHANEL Next Prize continues to reinforce the Culture Fund’s focus on identifying artists whose work responds to contemporary conditions while proposing new cultural futures, placing emphasis not only on innovation, but on sustained artistic vision.