From London, Outwards

As London Craft Week unfolds, the city once again becomes a meeting point for some of the most compelling voices in contemporary craft. It is also a moment to reflect on London’s ongoing contribution to a global conversation—one that the LOEWE FOUNDATION has long engaged with through the Craft Prize and its wider programme.

Over the years, a number of artists connected to London—whether by origin, practice or affinity—have been recognised by the Prize, contributing to a scene that continues to shape how craft is understood today: rooted in tradition, yet constantly redefined through new materials, contexts and ideas.

Among this year’s finalists, Xanthe Somers and Jobe Burns offer two distinct perspectives emerging from London-based practices. Somers works with ceramics to explore the emotional and political dimensions of domestic labour, drawing on postcolonial narratives and reimagining processes such as weaving and cloth-making to bring overlooked histories into focus. Burns, by contrast, engages with industrial materials and processes, reflecting on the legacy of labour in the West Midlands. His work bridges artisanal knowledge and large-scale production, inviting a reconsideration of value, authorship and making.

While their work is rooted in the UK, both artists are part of a wider international dialogue. This is reflected in the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2026, opening at the National Gallery Singapore (13 May – 14 June), where their works will be shown alongside a global selection of finalists. Together, they offer a snapshot of a practice that is at once local and expansive—deeply connected to place, yet resonating far beyond it.

Event details to be announced.