A two-day, custom-made Royal College of Art educational programme for the 2022 winners of the CHANEL Next Prize, held at the new RCA Battersea campus, created in collaboration with Chanel and delivered by experienced academics from the School of Arts and Humanities.
Overview
The two-day, custom-made RCA education programme, led by Professor Chantal Faust (Head of Programme, Contemporary Art Practice MA), was delivered at the new RCA Battersea campus in London over Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 October 2023.
The course marked the culmination of a two year programme for the winners of the 2022 CHANEL Next Prize, an international award that provides multidisciplinary creative risk-takers with the resources they need to realise ambitious new projects.
The 2022 winners hail from 11 countries and work across disciplines including design, film and the performing and visual arts. Members of the jury included the Chinese Artist Cao Fei and the British Actor Tilda Swinton. The partnership was overseen by Yana Peel, Global Head of Arts and Culture at Chanel.
“Hosting the CHANEL Next Prize winner’s masterclass at the Royal College of Art was a testament to the RCA’s alignment with Chanel’s mission of celebrating artistic innovation, recognising the role of contemporary artists in paving the way for the futures of creative practices and how these might impact our understandings of and interactions with the world.”
Head of Programme, Contemporary Art Practice MA, RCA
Course structure
The course was designed to allow the winners to connect, inspire and learn from each other, reinforcing the power of creativity and authenticity.
Seven RCA Academics and five guest practitioners were invited to lead sessions. These included Choreographing Robotics with Florence Peake (Artist); Dinner Party Statements: Locating and Articulating Practice with Dr Harold Offeh (RCA), Professor Chantal Faust and Whiskey Chow (RCA); The Business of Being an Artist or Designer with Dr Nadia Danhash (InnovationRCA); and On Communication with Funmi Fetto (Vogue), Calum Sutton (Sutton PR) and Anna Meacham (Huxley), chaired by Yana Peel.
Outcomes
The 2022 CHANEL Next Prize winners received world-class professional and personal development from a programme focused on elevating impact by adapting communication skills for diverse, global audiences, developing business management, growth and sustainability insights and forging new connections and experiences.
“The Royal College of Art is a transformational partnership for the CHANEL Next Prize. The RCA is the oldest art and design university in the world - and the most progressive. Under the guidance of the RCA’s educators at the college’s new Herzog & de Meuron campus in London, the awardees engaged in a specialist programme designed to foster creative collaboration, dialogue and cultural exchange. The prize winners now join a long list of exceptional creative minds, such as David Hockney, Bridget Riley and Lubaina Himid, who have benefited from studying at the college under the inspirational stewardship of Paul Thompson and Sir Jony Ive. The CHANEL Culture Fund is committed to advancing the ideas that shape culture. The Royal College of Art is the perfect partner in this pursuit.”
Global Head of Arts & Culture, Chanel
“At the RCA, we're committed to harnessing creativity as a powerful force for change. The CHANEL Next Prize aligns with our mission, recognising the responsibility of emerging creatives in shaping the future of art and culture. We prioritise innovative thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and exploring new artistic frontiers. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Chanel in the future”
Former Vice-Chancellor, RCA
Key details
Gallery
More information
RCA and guest contributors
RCA Academics
-Professor Chantal Faust, Contemporary Art Practice MA
-Dr Harold Offeh, Contemporary Art Practice MA
-Professor Johnny Golding, Professor of Philosophy & Fine Art, Research Group Lead: Entanglement, MA School Group Lead: Radical Matter, School of Arts & Humanities
-Dr Nadia Danhash, Director of InnovationRCA
-Dr Shehnaz Suterwalla, Curating Contemporary Art MA
Invited Guests
-Florence Peake, Artist
-Funmi Fetto, Writer; Journalist; Contributing Beauty Editor, Vogue
-Calum Sutton, Founder, Sutton PR
-Anna Meacham, CEO, Huxley
-John O’Mara, Architect, RCA Battersea Campus, Herzog & de Meuron
Sculpture MA Studio Project
RCA Sculpture MA students, led by Sarah Staton (Head of Programme, Sculpture MA), were invited to participate in a studio project to design an award honouring the 2022 CHANEL Next Prize winners.
David Gill joined the judging panel, bringing his expert knowledge around art and craft along with his deep sensitivity to form and material to the careful consideration of a winner and runners up.
The winning artwork was ‘Matrix’, by Helen Clarke, which was realised in bronze as a tabletop sculpture and given to the 10 CHANEL Next Prize winners at the RCA in October 2023 to mark the end of their two-year journey. The two runners up were Rafaella Lazarou and Yichen Li.
"It was a great pleasure to work with Chanel and David Gill in the commissioning of the first ever CHANEL Next Prize award, and an invaluable learning opportunity for our MA Sculpture cohort, who produced a wonderfully imaginative array of shapes, textures and surfaces formed from a wide scope of materials for their submissions."
-Sarah Staton, Head of Programme, Sculpture MA RCA
About the CHANEL Next Prize
The CHANEL Next Prize is awarded to ten international contemporary artists who are redefining their disciplines.
The winners of the 2022 edition of the CHANEL Next Prize represented 11 countries and disciplines spanning design, film and the performing and visual arts. Members of the 2022 jury included Chinese Artist Cao Fei and British Actor Tilda Swinton.
The winners of the 2024 CHANEL Next Prize, the second edition of the biennial arts and culture prize from the House, were announced by the CHANEL Culture Fund in March 2024.
Each prize winner receives €100,000 in funding, allowing them to fully realise their most ambitious artistic projects.
As part of the prize, the winners also access a two-year mentorship and networking programme facilitated by cultural partners of the House throughout the world, including the Royal College of Art in London.
The Next Prize was established in 2021 as part of the CHANEL Culture Fund, Chanel’s global initiative to accelerate the ideas that advance culture, extending the century-long legacy of cultural patronage of the House.
Yana Peel, Global Head of Arts & Culture at Chanel, said: “The CHANEL Next Prize was founded to amplify the work of artists who are making a difference and redefining their discipline. Each is a catalyst and a pioneer. Each is disrupting established practice in their field, from art and opera to cinema and game design. Watching their creative journeys will be thrilling.”
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