Sir John Soane’s Museum has announced that artists Lacey Law and Kanto Ohara Maeda have been selected as its 2026 Jerwood Artists in Residence. Supported by the Jerwood Foundation, the residency places artists in Soane’s Drawing Office, the earliest surviving working architectural office in Britain, originally installed in 1823. Law will undertake the Autumn residency, while Maeda will be the Summer resident, each developing new work over three months in response to the museum’s collections and legacy. The programme, launched in 2023 after the Drawing Office’s restoration, was renamed in 2025 to recognize the Jerwood Foundation’s three-year commitment.
The residency matters because it sustains a dialogue between contemporary drawing practice and one of London’s most historic creative spaces, highlighting the continued relevance of Sir John Soane’s Museum to artists today. By inviting artists rooted in drawing to engage directly with the museum’s unique atmosphere, the programme fosters experimental and conceptual approaches to the medium, while supporting emerging talent. The selection of Law and Maeda—whose practices range from tattooing and woodblock printing to animation and architecture—underscores the residency’s role in bridging tradition and innovation within the visual arts.