One of the ten winners of the Chanel Next Prize 2021 - Precious Okoyomon. Image courtesy of Chanel.

Chanel Next Prize 2021

Written by Lina Aastrup

Chanel Next Prize is an international award that promotes innovation in arts and culture. Established to provide an emerging generation of artists with resources to develop new and ambitious projects, the winners receive 100,000 € in funding each, as well as access to mentorship and networking opportunities.The prize is an extension of Chanel’s legacy of arts patronage that began with Gabrielle Chanel’s support of avant-garde artists of her time and her desire to be part of what happens next, “ce qui va arriver” – hence the name “Next” Prize. The winners represent 11 countries and a wide variety of disciplines within arts and culture. Awarded biennially, the artists are nominated by a global advisory board representing different artistic practices from film to the visual arts. The 2021 jury consisted of multi-media artist Cao Fei, architect Sir David Adjaye OBE and actress Tilda Swinton.

”I’m obsessed with the miracle of the everyday life. I’m obsessed with how that translates into the very concept of how we imagine the good life or life itself, or how we stretch the imagined fabrics of what even we see art as.” - Precious Okoyomon, one of ten recipients of the Chanel Next Prize 2021.

The Winners of the Chanel Next Prize 2021:
Composer Jung Jae-il
Collaborative practice Keiken made up of Hana Omori, Isabel Ramos and Tanya Cruz
Game designer Lual Mayen
Dancer and choreographer Marlene Monteiro Freitas
Filmmaker Rungano Nyoni
Poet and artist Precious Okoyomon
Theatre director Marie Schleef
Dancer and choreographer Botis Seva
Filmmaker Wang Bing
Filmmaker Eduardo Williams