The Chanel Culture Fund has announced the 10 recipients of its 2026 Chanel Next Prize, each receiving €100,000 ($117,400). The winners, announced on January 19 in London, include 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. The biennial prize, now in its third edition, also includes a two-year mentorship program in collaboration with Chanel’s cultural partners, such as London’s Royal College of Art.
This prize matters because it represents a significant, unrestricted investment in contemporary artists across multiple disciplines, allowing them to pursue ambitious work without project-based constraints. The Chanel Culture Fund’s commitment to long-term support rather than one-off commissions highlights a growing trend in arts philanthropy that prioritizes sustained creative development. By recognizing artists from 10 different countries, the prize also underscores the global scope of Chanel’s cultural engagement, continuing the house’s legacy of supporting avant-garde pioneers that began with Gabrielle Chanel.