The Serpentine x FLAG Art Foundation Prize will award five artists £200,000 each. Over the next decade, the initiative will distribute a total of £1 million, making it the largest contemporary art prize in the UK. In addition to financial support, artists will also showcase their work at both the Serpentine and the Flag Art Foundation.
This new biannual prize is open to artists of any age, based anywhere worldwide, who have been exhibiting professionally for less than ten years. Candidates will be nominated, and a rotating panel of internationally renowned curators, art historians, and artists will select the final awardees. Details of the jury are yet to be announced.
“The alliance provides global artists with the space and support to expand their practice,” said Serpentine CEO Bettina Korek. Serpentine Galleries artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist added: “What makes this prize so significant is its focus on artists who have not yet received the visibility or recognition they deserve. This has long been central to Serpentine’s programme: from presenting the first UK monographic exhibitions for emerging artists to championing overlooked voices whose contributions merit greater acknowledgment.”
The first artist will be selected in 2026, with their exhibition opening at the Serpentine in autumn 2027 and then travelling to FLAG in spring 2028.
Cover image: The FLAG Art Foundation, 2025. Photo: © Steven Probert. Serpentine. Photo: © Andy Stagg for Serpentine
