Seven recipients announced for Studio Voltaire and Loewe Foundation artist award
Studio Voltaire and Loewe Foundation have announced the seven recipients of a major new award which offers opportunities to talented creatives from underrepresented communities

The Loewe Foundation/ Studio Voltaire award was conceived in March 2021 in response to major gaps in career opportunities and affordable studio spaces for creatives in London, a situation further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Award winners announced
Just announced, the 2021–2023 cohort of awardees comprise Ayo Akingbade, Ufuoma Essi, Adam Farah, Nnena Kalu, Djofray Makumbu, Josiah Moktar and Curtly Thomas. The selected artists work across a range of disciplines and mediums, encompassing myriad interests, experiences and approaches to creating.
The two-year programme will offer support to seven artists through rent-free studios within Studio Voltaire’s new Matheson Whiteley-developed buildings, a tailored mentoring scheme and a bursary of £2,000 for each creative. Alongside curatorial and pastoral support, the award will also offer artists access to local and global audiences through public programming.
Adam Farah, still from Strollcast with Abbas Zahedi for B-Sides [Momentations Mix], 2020.
Not–for–profit arts organisation Studio Voltaire has cultivated a reputation for supporting artists at critical points in their careers, fuelled by a spirit of experimentation and risk-taking. It has been responsible for the UK solo debuts of myriad artists and notable participatory and offsite projects and commissions. Previous exhibiting artists have included Nairy Baghramian, Phyllida Barlow, Nnena Kalu and Henrik Olesen.
‘This special programme is even more urgent given Covid-19’s effects on artists. The need for spaces where artists can connect and be supported is vitally important,’ says Joe Scotland, director of Studio Voltaire. ‘London has lost significant numbers of studio spaces in the last three years and it’s estimated that more than a third of existing studio spaces will vanish by 2024.’
RELATED STORY
Ayo Akingbade
Ayo Akingbade, RA Schools Show, 2021.
The two-year programme will offer support to seven artists through rent-free studios within Studio Voltaire, a tailored mentoring scheme and a bursary of £2,000 for each creative. Alongside curatorial and pastoral support, the award will also offer artists access to local and global audiences through public programming.
Submissions will be received via both an open call, and through a group of dedicated ‘nominators’ including Sheryll Catto, co-director of Action Space and artist, Abbas Zahedi. Awards will be offered based on merit and need and selected by a panel of judges including Andrew Bonacina, chief curator of The Hepworth Wakefield; Sepake Angiama, artistic director of Iniva and artists Anthea Hamilton and Elizabeth Price.
Self-portrait
As Jonathan Anderson, creative director of Loewe explains, ‘Supporting creativity is at the heart of all Loewe does and it is, therefore, a great privilege for the Loewe Foundation to support this vital new initiative, especially in light of the impact Covid-19 has had on the artistic community.’
The second phase of the award comprises a year-long residency at Studio Voltaire for an international artist, set to be announced later this year. The initiative will develop in parallel with the much-anticipated reopening of Studio Voltaire in October 2021.
Artist’s Studio B at Studio Voltaire.
Studio Voltaire, architect’s Impression 2021.
Artist’s Studio A at Studio Voltaire.
Self-portrait
Josiah Moktar
Josiah Moktar, Still Life, 2020
Still from Bodies in Dissent,
INFORMATION
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Harriet Lloyd-Smith was the Arts Editor of Wallpaper*, responsible for the art pages across digital and print, including profiles, exhibition reviews, and contemporary art collaborations. She started at Wallpaper* in 2017 and has written for leading contemporary art publications, auction houses and arts charities, and lectured on review writing and art journalism. When she’s not writing about art, she’s making her own.
-
The best of refillable beauty design, edited by Wallpaper*
Wallpaper’s pick of the best refillable beauty design includes make-up, skincare, fragrance and haircare with beautifully formed bottles, tubes and containers from the likes of Dries Van Noten, Davines and more
-
Wear Shihara’s minimalist strands of pearls and gold clasps however you see fit
Shihara gives a lesson in minimalist pearl jewellery with new collection ‘Node’
-
Alice Adams, Louise Bourgeois, and Eva Hesse delve into art’s ‘uckiness’ at The Courtauld
New exhibition ‘Abstract Erotic’ (until 14 September 2025) sees artists experiment with the grotesque
-
Alice Adams, Louise Bourgeois, and Eva Hesse delve into art’s ‘uckiness’ at The Courtauld
New exhibition ‘Abstract Erotic’ (until 14 September 2025) sees artists experiment with the grotesque
-
Get lost in Megan Rooney’s abstract, emotional paintings
The artist finds worlds in yellow and blue at Thaddaeus Ropac London
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
It was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
London calling! Artists celebrate the city at Saatchi Yates
London has long been an inspiration for both superstar artists and newer talent. Saatchi Yates gathers some of the best
-
Alexandra Metcalf creates an unsettling Victorian world in London
Alexandra Metcalf turns The Perimeter into a alternate world in exhibition, 'Gaaaaaaasp'
-
Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska’s new show at Kettle’s Yard will uncover the missing narratives in everyday life stories
The artists and partners in life are collaborating on an immersive takeover of Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, in an exhibition that delves into a lost literary legacy
-
Sexual health since 1987: archival LGBTQIA+ posters on show at Studio Voltaire
A look back at how grassroots movements emphasised the need for effective sexual health for the LGBTQIA+ community with a host of playful and informative posters, now part of a London exhibition
-
Ten things to see at London Gallery Weekend
As 125 galleries across London take part from 6-8 June 2025, here are ten things not to miss, from David Hockney’s ‘Love’ series to Kayode Ojo’s look at the superficiality of taste