Craft in Britain stands at a defining moment: it is ambitious, diverse and in urgent need of sustained recognition. The new House & Garden Craft Prize celebrates the most exciting and inspiring artists working in the UK today.
To us, contemporary craft is a serious artistic discipline – one operating within the same critical and commercial framework as fine art. This prize honours work conceived with permanence and cultural consequence in mind; these will be pieces destined for galleries, significant private collections and museum contexts.
A landmark moment for contemporary craft in the UK
With Sotheby’s and the Crafts Council as Strategic Partners, the 2026 House & Garden Craft Prize arrives at a pivotal moment for the country’s creative industries.
Across the UK, artists and makers are redefining traditional disciplines through research, sustainable processes and cross-disciplinary exchange. From rural workshops to urban studios, contemporary British craft is characterised by experimentation and increasingly sophisticated engagement with community and culture.
‘We have decided to launch the Craft Prize this year because, now more than ever, supporting and celebrating the work of artisans is vital,’ says Talib Choudhry, editor of House & Garden. ‘Across our platforms, we have championed craft in all its guises. Now we are seeking to highlight those who are taking time-honoured skills and giving them contemporary relevance.’
Open to established and emerging practitioners living and working in the UK, the prize welcomes submissions across scale and media – from unexpected explorations of clay and textile, to ambitious creations in wood and fine metalwork.
No purchase or submission fee is necessary to enter the House & Garden Craft Prize. Deadline for submissions: 10pm GMT, March 28, 2026. Click here to find out how to apply.
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Barnaby Ash (of Ash & Plumb) sculpting one of his largest English oak vessels, based on the shape of a Greek psykter wine cooler, at the atelier’s workshop in the South Downs.
Photo by Andrew Montgomery for House & Garden.Reframing artistic merit and cultural relevance
The House & Garden Craft Prize asserts unequivocally that contemporary craft – when driven by discipline and imagination – belongs in the same cultural, intellectual and commercial arenas as painting, sculpture or couture.
Chaired by Talib Choudhry, editor of House & Garden, the 2026 judging panel includes TF Chan, fair director of Collect, Julia Fischel, director at Sotheby’s London, and Keith Brymer Jones, master potter and judge on The Great Pottery Throw Down.
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