Introducing our 2026 Artist Grant Selection Committee
With our 2026 open call now live, it’s time we introduced our selection committees.
As usual, we’ve assembled a roster of independent experts with varied areas of focus and expertise, along with extensive experience of the challenges that face emerging artists in today’s arts landscape. In order to review an increasing number of applications, and to draw upon as many experiences and perspectives as possible, we’ve expanded each of this year’s two selection committees from five members to seven.
Below, you can read about the 2026 Artist Grant Selection Committee and get a feel for who they are.
Photo credit: Peter HaynesBeth Davies is a strategist and development practitioner working across contemporary art, fashion, and design. She works with some of the most influential institutions, artists, and brands to define direction and shape partnerships that build enduring cultural value. Her collaborators have included Aesop, WePresent, Julianknxx, and Solange Knowles.
Emiko Ogawa is a Japanese curator and artist. Since 2013, she has been the head of the Prix Ars Electronica, a media art competition organized by Ars Electronica. She also plays a key role in Ars Electronica’s Art Thinking programs, which foster discussions and shape essential questions around envisioning the future.
Imed Alibi
Imed Alibi is a Franco-Tunisian percussionist, composer, artistic director, and cultural curator whose work brings together contemporary music, North African traditions, and electronic experimentation. Awarded Tunisia's Bouclier National de la Culture (2019) and France's Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (2021), he has performed internationally as both a solo artist and collaborator. His projects explore the intersection of acoustic percussion, electronics, and cinematic sound. Alongside his artistic practice, he is active in cultural development, contributing to Tilal Utique in Tunisia and Ibraaz in London.
Photo credit: Richard TymonCurator and director of exhibitions at Diriyah Art Futures in Riyadh, Irini Papadimitriou was previously creative director at FutureEverything, artistic director for the Sea Art Festival 2023 in Busan, digital programmes manager at the V&A and head of new media arts development at Watermans. She co-founded Maker Assembly, a critical gathering about maker cultures.
Photo credit: Vinicius JardimLorena Pires
2025 Will Smith Emerging Artist Fund recipient
Lorena Pires joined the Académie de l'Opéra National de Paris as artist-in-residence in September 2025. Pires’ work is influenced by her Afro-Brazilian roots and her own research into Brazil’s musical history. Pires is committed to the concept of transformative art — creating work that crosses borders and connects people through music.
Photo credit: Karina StevensRawz
2025 Artist Grant recipient
A multimedia artist who found his voice through Hip Hop, Rawz often centres his work on interconnections between time, place, technology, spirituality and lived experience. He sees art in its many forms as a series of languages enabling us to understand and transmit ideas and feelings too complex for words. He’s also one of our 2025 Artist Grant recipients, so knows our application processes well.
Salim Bayri is a visual artist based in Amsterdam. He was a resident at the Rijksakademie (NL); and in 2022 was awarded the Volkskrant Visual Arts Prize and the Charlotte Köhler Prize. He exhibited in places such as W139 (Amsterdam), CODA Museum (Apeldoorn), Alyssa Davis Gallery (New York), ADN Gallery (Barcelona), Azkuna Zentroa (Bilbao), GVCC (Casablanca) and Hot Wheels (Athens) among others. Bayri is half of the music duo BAZOGA and he is represented by Galerie van Gelder (Amsterdam).
