Jaguar and the Royal College of Art announce Jaguar Awards winners

Revealed during a celebratory dinner held at V&A East Storehouse, the awards celebrate bold creative voices and fearless originality.

Recognising global talent, the Jaguar Awards support artists whose practices embody bold experimentation, independent vision and the courage to challenge convention. Open to students across RCA’s multidisciplinary programmes, the awards recognise emerging practitioners whose work signals a powerful new chapter in contemporary creativity.

Set against the spectacular backdrop of V&A East Storehouse Collections Hall, and compered by writer, curator and founder of a Vibe Called Tech, Charlene Prempeh, the Jaguar Awards dinner welcomed a vibrant audience of artists, curators and industry cultural figures for an evening dedicated to championing the next generation of original artists.

Rooted in the brand’s ‘Copy Nothing’ philosophy instilled by its founder, Sir William Lyons, guests were invited to celebrate the artworks up close before taking their seats among the emerging talents themselves.

The final five were chosen by a panel made up of Jaguar’s creative team and RCA alumni, and experts from diverse artistic fields. This included Dr Gus Casely-Hayford, Director of V&A East, recognised for his curatorial leadership, visual-artist Lakwena Maciver, fashion designer and multi-disciplinary artist Tolu Coker, and Charlene Prempeh.

Alongside them was artist, sculptor and inaugural 2025 Jaguar Award winner, Jobe Burns. Since completing his MA in Sculpture at the RCA, his work has featured in Architectural Digest and was recently named among the finalists for the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize 2026. The Jaguar Award has been instrumental in enabling him to relocate to a large studio space in the Midlands and to scale his early-career practice.

This year’s five finalists each receive a pivotal financial creative grant to help shape the next stage of their practices. One outstanding artist receives the £20,000 Lyons Award named after Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons. A second finalist receives the £10,000 Future Originals Award, while three Special Commendations of £5,000 are also awarded.

Lyons Award, £20,000: Yuze Pan (MA Jewellery & Metal)

Future Originals Award, £10,000: Kwok Lam Tsui (MA Painting)

Special Commendation, £5,000: Vedika Rampal (MA Contemporary Art Practice)

Special Commendation, £5,000: Anna Pesonen (MA Sculpture)

Special Commendation, £5,000: Line Marie Le Fèvre, MRes RCA (Master of Research)

MA Jewellery and Metal artist Yuze Pan receives the £20,000 Lyons Award for Polyphony, a brooch created in aluminium where shifting colours are juxtaposed and appear and disappear as the viewer moves.

The piece reflects on themes of self-identity and loss of individuality, influenced by the pressures and expectations of today’s complex society.

Yuze Pan, Jaguar Lyons Award winner for his work Polyphony said: “Receiving the Lyons Award creative bursary will allow me to continue exploring the field of contemporary jewellery and push my practice further. It will help me refine my technical skills and deepen my understanding of materials and making processes. It will also give me the opportunity to experiment on a larger scale, creating work that expands beyond the boundaries of jewellery. I hope to present the craftsmanship and expression of my work in a way that can be more immersive and explore how these ideas can reach a wider field.”

He continues: “Jaguar’s belief in fearless creativity and the space to be bold resonates deeply within my own practice. My hope is to use my artwork to encourage people to hold on to their identity, to move with passion and at their own pace, and to celebrate what makes them unique. I believe the richness of our world comes from the fact that we are all different, and it is those differences that make genuine coexistence possible.”

Rawdon Glover, Managing Director, Jaguar, said: “The Jaguar Awards exist to champion creative voices with the confidence to see the world differently. Tonight’s finalists represent the spirit of fearless originality in its purest form: artists with distinct perspectives, material conviction and the courage to challenge convention. Bringing this celebration to V&A East Storehouse and surrounding these emerging talents with such an inspiring cultural audience, made a powerful statement about the importance of championing originality.”

He continues: “Yuze Pan’s work stood out for his boundless experimentation. He has defined a new way of creating material, bringing together craftsmanship, engineering and mastery through stages, to create something entirely new – we’re excited to see what he does next.”

The RCA, the world’s leading university for art and design, has a long history of nurturing talent that has gone on to shape culture globally.