“Art does not have to be specific to our struggles to be helpful to us in dealing with them. And this is because art is not about itself, but about us. It is what it does to us, what it opens up in us that counts.”
The renowned poet and novelist Sir Ben Okri delivered a poignant and rousing welcome address at The Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2026.
Ben’s words were a testament to power of artists to respond to and transcend personal and collective crisis, and a powerful reflection on why the universal spirit of art really matters.
We’re honoured to share Ben’s wise words with you. The 2026 Awards Ceremony was held in London on 2 February 2026.
Ben Okri is the Nigerian-born poet, cultural activist, and author of thirteen novels, including the Booker Prize-winning The Famished Road, the first in a trilogy, and Astonishing the Gods, which was selected as one of the BBC’s ‘100 novels that shaped our world’, as well as collections of poetry, short stories, plays and essays. His work has been translated into more than 28 languages. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has won numerous international prizes and been awarded many honorary doctorates. His poem following the Grenfell Tower tragedy was widely viewed on television and on social media. He was a Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was awarded an OBE in 2001 and a Knighthood in 2023.
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