Photo Credit: Ken Nwadiogbu/Instagram
Nigerian-born, London-based artist Ken Nwadiogbu has won the 2026 Young Generation Art Award.
Selected from a shortlist of five artists out of nearly 400 applicants, Nwadiogbu was presented with the award by Degussa CEO Christian Rauch at a ceremony held on 19 February 2026 at the Hotel de Rome in Berlin. The award, created by Degussa in partnership with Monopol magazine, was set up to support emerging artists at the very start of their careers — and with nearly 400 people in the running, the competition was no small thing.
As part of the win, he takes home €10,000 in prize money, a solo exhibition at Frieze London 2026, and a one-year travelling exhibition across several international locations.
If you are not yet familiar with his work, here is your introduction. Nwadiogbu is a University of Lagos and Royal College of Art graduate who started out as a self-taught artist with no formal training — and who once had plans to study civil engineering.
He is the mind behind the “Contemporealism” movement, a practice that sits between hyperrealism and contemporary social commentary. His bright yellow portraits honouring members of the Black community are among his most recognised works, and he has shown at the Royal Academy of Arts, Somerset House, Hauser & Wirth, and the Saatchi Gallery, among others.
