The Arts Foundation announce the four Shortlisted Artists of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 for Design.
The Design Award champions contemporary designers with a focus on sustainability working across a broad range of disciplines, from product, material or industrial design to architectural practices. Meet the Shortlist:
Ellie Birkhead is a designer, maker and facilitator who uses the power of craft and creativity to bring about social change, with a particular focus on communities and material and ecological transition of the built environment.
Jacob Marks is a designer and maker. His work focuses on reimagining natural materials, often using those that are overlooked or disregarded to produce defined and distinctive contemporary works.
Lawrence Parent is a designer whose varied practice is a blend of art, design, and environmental activism. His work seeks to inspire a cultural shift towards sustainable living.
Kaye Song is an architectural designer and co-director of Flimsy Works. Her projects explore both the physical and emotional complexities of human landscapes.
With thanks to our independent Jury members: Sarah Douglas, Design Agent, Consultant & Advisor; Prof. Adrian Lahoud, Dean, School of Architecture and Fellow at the Royal College of Art; and Satoshi Isono, Creative Director, Universal Design Studio who said:
“It has been brilliant to discover such strong and varied creative designers through the Arts Foundation Futures Awards. Each of the shortlisted practitioners, Eleanor Birkhead, Jacob Marks, Lawrence Parent and Kaye Song has developed intricate approaches, methodologies, and a distinct design sensibility. I am excited to see where their careers take them.”
The Arts Foundation has a long history of supporting progressive and imaginative design practices having launched an award for Material Innovation a decade ago in 2014. Mary Jane Edwards, Director of The Arts Foundation says:
“We are thrilled to continue our support of forward-looking designers and creative practitioners. We are always greatly encouraged by the collaborative practices of all four designers working with materials and people and nature-centred design approaches. As the global climate crisis deepens, we are proud to have been an early advocate of innovation in material and social design, and to have supported a formidable body of thinking and work in this space.”
Read more about this year’s awards.
The Arts Foundation is a registered charity that supports individual artists and creatives in the UK with unconditional financial Fellowships of £20,000 through the Arts Foundation Futures Awards. Since it was founded in 1993, the Arts Foundation has awarded over £2 million to the most promising artists in the UK at a pivotal moment in their careers to enable them to concentrate on their creative development, experiment, and realise their artistic potential.