Since its launch in 2016 by one of fashion’s most influential creative directors, Jonathan Anderson, the Loewe Craft Prize has championed uniquely talented artists from around the world. The award celebrates excellence, artistic merit, elite technical skills, and innovation in modern craft by those shaping new standards and the future of creativity.
Among this year’s 30 finalists are Fadekemi Ogunsanya and Xanthe Somers, two dynamic African artists — one from Nigeria and the other from Zimbabwe — who stand out for their powerful artistic languages, informed by their upbringing, craft, and culture. Their work not only advances contemporary art, but also revives traditional African crafts.
Fadekemi Ogunsanya
Underscored by an indigo pigment often found in her work, Fadekemi’s figures exist between object and otherworldly imagination — mythical yet grounded expressions of womanhood in patriarchal spaces. Her rich textiles, featuring striking hand-embroidered and beaded quilts, are directly inspired by her Nigerian roots.
Blue and indigo, specifically, play a crucial role in her work. The colour holds deep significance in Yoruba life and folklore, and is achieved through Àdìrẹ, Nigeria’s centuries-old resist-dyeing technique, historically practised by women. In Àdìrẹ, cloth is treated and positioned in different ways to prevent certain parts from absorbing the dye, creating distinctive, one-of-a-kind patterns.
With a background in architecture, the multidisciplinary artist translates these motifs into human faces and spirit-like forms that populate her artistic world, exploring themes of joy, life, and loss.
Offering a soft, tender gaze, these figures — sometimes styled in traditional garments — are often set within symbolic shapes or cosmic, infinite spaces. Experiencing Fadekemi’s work is like diving into a history lesson of Nigerian textiles, drawing renewed attention to this once-disappearing trade.
Xanthe Somers
Even in her interrogation of beauty, Xanthe Somers’ work exudes a captivating presence. The Zimbabwean artist creates grand, hand-coiled ceramic sculptures. Distinctive in colour, size, and silhouette, her life-sized figures challenge conventional notions of beauty and perfection. They stand tall, shimmering from a glazing effect, yet often feature punctured or collapsing surfaces.
“I try to shift away from the ideas of beauty, refinement, and value that I grew up learning,” Xanthe explains via Partnership Editions. “Objects are not inert; they carry meaning, they have a purpose, and they are political,” she continues.
These layered references form the foundation of her work. She transcends aesthetics to interrogate her country’s colonial history and artisanal traditions, borrowing techniques from Zimbabwe’s Binga basket-weaving culture while addressing inequalities she experienced growing up. The artist also references gendered labour, particularly work associated with women, such as mending, textiles, and caregiving. For her, clay is a form of archive for human stories, with the power to hold, shape, and convey meaning.
Visit craftprize.loewe.com for more information.
For Fadekemi Ogunsanya, visit vocurations.com; and for Xanthe Somers, xanthesomers.com.
