2026 Cohort
View this year’s candidates below. Click on the images to access their portfolios.
Shortlist
Emmanuel Ellis
Surreal and Editorial PhotographerEmmanuel's artistry is deeply human-centred, with a strong preference for working with people as his primary subjects. Water is a recurring motif in his work, symbolising fluidity, emotion, and depth. Every image he creates is infused with personal meaning, channeling his emotions and unique perspective into each composition.
Omolola Coker
Figurative ArtistHer recent body of work touches on themes of misplacement, rest, and rebuilding. By incorporating Nigerian batik dyeing techniques, known as Adiré, she infuses her canvases with rich symbolism that bridges reality and the surreal. Through a nuanced interplay of mediums, Omolola creates dreamlike compositions that transition sharp realism into abstraction.
Vincent Frimpong
Contemporary Ceramic ArtistVincent uses mixed media installation to create a space that allows for open dialogue between the audience and the space utilizing some elements of Ghanaian culture and the human hand as a tool to explore the idea of what it means to be an African.
Daniel Arnan Quarshie
Multidisciplinary ArtistHis practice addresses themes of death, loss, memory, and the passage of time, while engaging with the politics of capitalism, labour, overconsumption, and environmental degradation.
Edward Prah
Multidisciplinary ArtistEdward Prah’s ongoing interest in the materiality of imaging substances is explored through various methods, including sculptural, theatrical, photography and light projections using reflective materials. These approaches delve into themes of identity, intimacy, belonging and decolonial thoughts. Prah’s work explores how photographic objects deteriorate and accumulate in time integrating fragments of his personal archives—his family photo album and images of his immediate surroundings.
Longlist
Rechel Rodham Oppong
Portraiture ArtistMy work explores the expressions we see and use in our day to day lives. Within the space of the canvas, I try to create a world that is undeniably different with colors from the one we live in.
Tochukwu Orazulike Kingsley
Multidisciplinary ArtistWorking with oil, acrylic, and spray paint on processed fabrics, he creates textured works with waste materials such as sawdust and paper, highlighting the fragile yet resilient relationship between humans and natural resources. His practice blends surreal imagery with reflections on struggle and renewal, raising awareness on environmental and social issues.
Osaji Chinedu George
Multidisciplinary ArtistEmploying archival research, new media, drawing, installation, and conceptual art, his work engages with the dimensions of memory, mythology, identity, and the existential tension between the individual and the state. Informed by his multi-ethnic background, his multidisciplinary practice also considers the questions of identity and ‘place’.
Abdur Rahman Muhammad
Contemporary ArtistAbdur Rahman’s work explores themes of migration and identity. Using oil paint as his primary medium, he contrasts thick impasto renderings of the human figure with flat, detailed backgrounds, creating a dialogue between presence and absence.
Gideon Okoro
Visual ArtistHis works describe the human mind and portray fragments of emotions, dreams, imaginations and nearly forgotten memories. He uses his medium and style to evoke lost memories and suppressed dreams in both figurative, surrealistic, and silhouette forms. Also using opposite colors, negative spaces and a wash like technique to portray the fading nature of dreams and memories.
Lawrence Meju
Visual Artist & DesignerLawrence’s work merges structure with spontaneity, balancing precision with raw, expressive experimentation. Inspired by urban environments and human connections, his practice is both deeply personal and universally resonant. Committed to sustainability, he works with textured paper, upcycled materials, and digital media, transforming everyday elements into striking visual narratives.