Loewe Craft Prize

Every organization should have a foundation committed to giving back. I love that Loewe, a Spanish fashion house founded in 1846, is committed to artisans. The foundation has been around since 1988 with the mission to promote creativity in the arts. The Craft Prize, from the Loewe Foundation, began in 2016 to celebrate excellence, artistic merit, and innovation in modern craftsmanship. Above is the winner, an intricate sculpture by Eriko Inazaki.

Over the years, I was obsessed with the winners, keeping a tab open on my computer where I would go back and look at the works daily. With over 2700 submissions this year, the finalists are being shown at the Noguchi Museum in Queens until June 18th. I am so happy I went.

The pieces are shown in a building across the street from the Noguchi Museum, in a refurbished building that has been given a Japanese aesthetic. Only so many people are let in at a time, so you can get close to these gems.

Each piece is inspiring, making me think about an artist’s brain. How they think and create.

The arts are an integral part of the culture, be it writing, painting, singing, or designing, and we do not celebrate that enough. Instead, we are watching crazy people take away books or other cultural icons for fear that it is allowing their children’s brains to think differently and open to looking at the world through a new lens.

I am so glad I went. Mind-blowing. Also the Noguchi Museum is remarkable too.