For makers and workshops considering the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027, the first question is not only what to submit. Eligibility, the conditions placed on the work itself, photographs, a portfolio, a written statement — a good deal of preparation sits outside the studio.
Entries for the LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 close at 23:59 CET on 15 October 2026. The application is completed in English and calls for two to five photographs of the work, a short biography, a portfolio of up to five pieces, details of the entered work, identification, and a conceptual and technical statement of no more than 200 words.
The thing to avoid is treating this as a set of boxes to fill. The photographs, the portfolio and the written statement are separate items on the form, but together they build a single picture: what this maker thinks about, how they handle material and process, and why this particular work exists.
Drawing on the official 2027 pages, the FAQ and the Rules of Entry, this guide follows the order in which the work of applying actually happens — from eligibility through photographic specifications and the written statement to the final check before submitting.
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
Table of Contents
What Is the LOEWE Craft Prize 2027? Deadline and Basic Conditions
The LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 is an international award for contemporary craft, open to professional artisans aged 18 and over. Entries for this tenth edition close at 23:59 CET on 15 October 2026.
Established in 2016, the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize reaches its tenth edition in 2027. Its purpose, set against LOEWE’s own beginnings as an artisanal workshop, is to recognise excellence, artistic merit and innovation in contemporary craft.
The fields given as examples include ceramics, bookbinding, enamelwork, jewellery, lacquer, metal, furniture, leather, textiles, glass, paper and wood. The prize describes its territory as the applied arts. Read alongside the conditions set out below, the emphasis falls less on whether an object fits a recognised craft category than on whether it demonstrates artistic intent through its material and technique.
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
There is no entry fee. Applications are made through the official online registration only; entries sent directly by email are not accepted. The form is completed in English.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
Prize, Exhibition and Judging Schedule
The winner receives €50,000. Where the Jury chooses to award Special Mentions, each carries €5,000.
Judging happens in two stages. The Expert Panel reviews the entries and selects the works that go forward to the final stage. The 2027 pages describe a shortlist of 30 works, while the Rules of Entry set the figure at a maximum of 30; this article follows the latter.
A Jury of fifteen, drawn from design, architecture, journalism, criticism and museum curatorship, then selects the winner from among the finalists. It includes Jongjin Park, winner of the 2026 edition, and the designer Naoto Fukasawa, director of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Tokyo.
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
Editor’s Note
What matters here is less the name of any individual juror than the make-up of the panel as a whole.
Makers, designers, architects and curators sit on it together. That composition suggests a prize where technical difficulty alone is not the measure, and where a work is read from several directions at once for what it proposes as contemporary craft.
Finalists are contacted in January 2027, after the Expert Panel has made its selection, by the telephone number or email address given on the form. The winner is decided after the Jury’s deliberation, which the FAQ gives as May 2027. The main pages state that the award and accompanying exhibition will take place in Europe in spring 2027; the venue had not been announced at the time of writing.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
Who Can Enter? Working Through the Eligibility Conditions
Entrants must be professional artisans aged 18 or over at the time of application. There is no restriction by nationality, and entries may be made individually or as a group. The work itself carries further conditions covering when it was made, whether it is one-of-a-kind, and its prize history.
The 2027 information asks that entrants be 18 or over and engaged in craft as a sustained professional activity. Nationality places no limit on who may enter.
The conditions set on the work are as follows.
- It falls within the applied arts
- It is an original work
- It is one-of-a-kind
- It is handmade in whole or in part
- It was created within the past five years
- It has not previously won any prize
- It demonstrates artistic intent as well as technical proficiency
- It is innovative in the sense that it updates tradition
That last condition does not call for work that rejects inherited technique. What it asks is that you can account for what you have carried forward, what you have altered, and how material and process connect to a present-day form of expression.
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
Outsourced fabrication requires particular attention. The FAQ states that work designed or conceived by the entrant but physically made by a third party is not eligible: the entrant must be the maker of the work.
Makers and workshops who divide labour or work collaboratively should establish, before applying, which stages they carried out themselves and whether the entry belongs under a group submission.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
Each individual or group may enter one work, or one series that stands as a single artistic creation. The same work may not be entered for another prize at the same time.
What “Professional Artisan” Actually Means
Professional artisan does not mean someone who earns their living from craft alone.
The FAQ describes it as working in craft as a professional activity and taking an active part in exhibitions, galleries, fairs and educational programmes. Income from craft need not be your sole support.
Students are eligible too, provided they are 18 or over and their biography shows sustained professional engagement with craft.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
Editorial Note
Emerging makers, and those who maintain a practice alongside other work, do not need to overstate their professional standing.
What counts is an accurate account in the biography of what you have made consistently, where it has been shown, and what activity you have built up over time. Rather than judging for yourself whether you qualify as a professional, it is easier to measure your practice against the activity the FAQ describes.
What Do You Need to Prepare? Submission Items and Photographic Specifications
Beyond photographs of the work, the LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 application calls for a biography, a portfolio of up to five pieces, details of the entered work, identification, and a conceptual and technical statement of no more than 200 words.
The main pages give a brief summary of the photographs and the statement, but the full list of what you will be asked for sits in the Rules of Entry.
| Item | What it covers | Points to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Applicant details | Name or group name, country or region, date and place of birth, telephone, email, address | Match the spelling on your identification |
| Biography | A short artist biography | Set out exhibitions and activity as fact, not description |
| Portfolio | Up to five works representing your career | Show the shape of a practice, not only the entered piece |
| Work details | Title, dimensions, materials, weight, category | Keep units and English terminology consistent |
| Value of the work | An estimated value in euros for insurance purposes | This serves a different purpose from a sale price |
| Identification | Passport or official ID | Make sure the document is valid |
| Statement | A conceptual and technical statement | Keep it within 200 words |
| Photographs | Two to five | Shoot from different viewpoints |
| Video | Optional | One minute maximum |
You will need two to five photographs. The Rules of Entry ask for different viewpoints, with one image only showing a person beside the work to indicate scale. The background should be white and neutral.
On files, the FAQ specifies JPG or PNG, a minimum of 800 × 600px, at least 200dpi, and no more than 2MB per file. Video, if you include it, runs to a maximum of one minute.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
Choose photographs for what they reveal, not simply for how polished they look
In an application, legibility matters more than the staging of an advertising image: form, surface, material, structure and scale all need to be read accurately.
If you are submitting five, it helps to give each a distinct job — the whole piece, the three-dimensional structure seen at an angle, detail of material or technique, the underside or interior, and the image with a person for scale.
You do not have to complete the form in one sitting. The FAQ states that entries are saved automatically and can be revised up to the point of submission. Once submitted, the content cannot be changed.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
A note on finding the 2027 Rules of Entry
As of 26 September 2026, the “Rules of Entry 2027” link under “How to participate” on the 2027 pages leads to the current rules, while the general “Rules of Entry” link in the site footer was found to open the 2026 PDF. Before applying, go to “Rules of Entry 2027” within the 2027 pages rather than relying on the footer.
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
Pre-submission checklist
- The entrant is 18 or over and meets the conditions for a professional artisan
- The work was made within the past five years
- The work is one-of-a-kind and has not previously won a prize
- The same work is not entered for another prize at the same time
- The entrant is confirmed as the maker of the work
- The biography is in order
- The portfolio is edited down to five works or fewer
- Title, dimensions, materials, weight and category are confirmed
- An estimated insurance value in euros is ready to enter
- A passport or official ID is to hand
- The conceptual and technical statement is within 200 words
- Two to five photographs are prepared
- One photograph uses a person to indicate scale
- Backgrounds are white and neutral
- Files are JPG or PNG, at least 800 × 600px and 200dpi, under 2MB
- Any video runs to one minute or less
- All information is entered in English
- The current Rules of Entry 2027 have been checked before submitting
What the Statement Needs to Carry
In 200 words, a list of processes will not do the work. What has to come through is the intent behind the piece, the material and technique, and the reasons those were chosen — held together as one thread.
The 2027 Rules of Entry ask for a conceptual and technical statement of no more than 200 words about the work.
Rather than starting from the finished sentences, it is usually easier to settle three things first.
- What the work is about
- Why it had to be this material and this process
- How it reinterprets an existing technique, use or tradition
The pull, when describing craft in a short space, is towards the ready-made vocabulary of heritage: traditional craftsmanship, harmony with nature, tradition and innovation. Those phrases are frictionless to write and carry almost nothing specific about the object in front of the reader.
With a work in urushi, a natural lacquer made from tree sap, saying that traditional lacquer technique was used tells a reader little. What can be described instead is how the layering of the film, the polishing, the cutting back, the curing and the way the surface changes with age bear on the structure and meaning of the piece.
In ceramics, listing glaze names and firing temperatures is not the same as thinking about how the shrinkage of the clay, the flame, the movement of the glaze and the relationship between chance and control arrive at the final form.
Editor’s Note
Putting a work into words for an international open call is less a question of language than of the editing that comes before it. The material choices and process decisions that have become second nature in the studio have to be looked at once more from outside the work.
Reaching for difficult vocabulary does less for the reader than saying plainly why this material and why this method. That is what brings the outline of a piece into focus.
Technique names such as maki-e, lacquer decoration using sprinkled metal powder, kanshitsu, dry-lacquer construction, zōgan, inlay, and yakishime, high-fired unglazed ceramics, do not need forcing into a single everyday English word. It is worth first checking the English forms already used by the makers, workshops, regional associations and museums concerned, then, where it helps, pairing a romanised term with a short explanation.
The aim is not to convert the vocabulary for its own sake. Meaning should survive, and someone seeing the work for the first time should be able to follow it.
Unsure Whether to Apply? Common Misunderstandings [FAQ]
The points that most often cause hesitation, set out from the 2027 FAQ.
- Q1. When is the deadline?
- 23:59 CET on 15 October 2026. Entries opened on 8 July 2026.
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION) - Q2. Is there an entry fee?
- No. The FAQ states explicitly that there is no registration fee.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION) - Q3. How many works can I enter?
- One work per individual or group, or one series that stands as a single artistic creation.
- Q4. Can I enter a work that was entered for another prize but did not win?
- Yes. It must, however, meet the other conditions, including never having won a prize and not having been a finalist in a previous LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION) - Q5. Can I enter if part of the making was done by someone else?
- The FAQ states that a work designed or conceived by the entrant but made by a third party is not eligible, and that the entrant must be the maker. Where the work is collaborative, check the conditions for a group submission.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION) - Q6. Can students enter?
- Yes, if they are 18 or over and their biography shows sustained professional engagement with craft through exhibitions, galleries, fairs, educational programmes and similar activity.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION) - Q7. Can I submit the application in a language other than English?
- No. The online registration form must be completed in English.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION) - Q8. Can I revise my entry after submitting it?
- No. Entries are saved automatically as you work and can be changed before submission, but not afterwards.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION) - Q9. Can I enter a work that has already been exhibited?
- Previous exhibition alone does not make a work ineligible. Check it against the other requirements, including prize history, date of making and conditions of ownership.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION) - Q10. Can I enter the same work for another competition at the same time?
- No. The FAQ does not permit the same work to be entered for another prize concurrently.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 Conditions at a Glance [Comparison Table]
Working through the conditions in five groups — eligibility, the work, submission items, photographs and language — is the surest way to avoid leaving something out.
| Item | 2027 edition |
|---|---|
| Entry period | 8 July to 23:59 CET on 15 October 2026 |
| Entry fee | None |
| Eligibility | Professional artisans aged 18 and over. Any nationality, individually or as a group |
| Conditions on the work | Applied arts, original, one-of-a-kind, handmade in whole or in part, created within the past five years, no previous prize, demonstrating artistic intent |
| Number of entries | One work per individual or group, or one series standing as a single work |
| Biography | A short artist biography |
| Portfolio | Up to five works representing your career |
| Work details | Title, dimensions, materials, weight, category, and an estimated insurance value in euros |
| Identification | Passport or official ID |
| Statement | Conceptual and technical statement, 200 words maximum |
| Photographs | Two to five. JPG or PNG, minimum 800 × 600px and 200dpi, under 2MB. White neutral background, including one image with a person for scale |
| Video | Optional, one minute maximum |
| Language | English |
| Finalist selection | The Expert Panel selects a maximum of 30 works. Finalists contacted in January 2027 |
| Winner | Selected by a Jury of fifteen. The FAQ gives May 2027 |
| Prize | €50,000 for the winner. €5,000 for each Special Mention, where awarded |
| Exhibition and catalogue | The winning work and the finalists’ works to feature in the exhibition and official catalogue in Europe in spring 2027 |
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
After You Submit: What Comes Next
The English biography, portfolio, photographs and statement you are putting together now are worth keeping as working documents, not filing away once the result is known. They will serve the next open call abroad and the next approach to a gallery.
Measuring a work again, hunting for images of earlier pieces, settling on an English title, rewriting a biography from scratch — doing all of it afresh for every international application is a heavy load.
Recording title, year, materials, technique, dimensions, weight, photographs, a short description and the English terminology as one set each time a work is finished changes how quickly you can respond to the next opportunity.
The portfolio of up to five works deserves the same second look. Rather than simply lining up your five most recent pieces, consider whether they let a reader see the themes you work with, your relationship to material, how technique has shifted, the range of scale, and the question you have kept returning to.
A portfolio is not an inventory. It shows what you have made, and at the same time what you have gone on thinking about.
Editor’s Note
The value of the material assembled for this application does not expire the moment the result is announced. Using an international open call as a deadline to archive your own work, in your own language and in English, is what pays off over time.
Reaching an international audience is not a matter of dressing work up for people elsewhere. It is the work of editing the judgements already present in daily practice into a form that people from a different background can follow.
Kogei Japonica reports on the profiles and working backgrounds of makers and workshops for readers in Japan and abroad. For the results of previous editions and the criteria by which contemporary craft is assessed internationally, our analysis of the 2026 prize covers the same ground from a different angle.
Conclusion
Entries for the LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 close at 23:59 CET on 15 October 2026. Applying means preparing not only the work but two to five photographs, a biography, a portfolio of up to five pieces, details of the work, identification and a conceptual and technical statement of no more than 200 words — and starting early.
The conditions worth watching most closely: the work must be one-of-a-kind and made within the past five years, it must never have won a prize, the entrant must be its maker, it cannot be entered for another prize at the same time, and nothing can be changed once submitted.
What matters most in this application, in our view, is not producing language that sounds right for an international audience.
Which material you chose. Why that process was necessary. What you carried forward and what you changed. It is a matter of putting each of those judgements into words.
Set out how material, process, form and intent hold together as one work — not only how demanding the technique was — and the documents you prepare now will keep their use in the next exhibition, the next international call, the next conversation with a gallery.
If you are considering an entry, narrow the field to one work or one series and prepare the four elements separately: photographs, biography, portfolio and the 200-word statement.
Before submitting, check the current Rules of Entry 2027 and the FAQ on the LOEWE FOUNDATION pages.
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
