The Facts
On November 12, 2026, the Royal College of Art’s Association of Black Student Alumni and Friends (RCA BLK) and Lisson Gallery announced the first recipients of the John Akomfrah Research Fellowship. Artists Canaan J Brown and Emily Alice Mitchell have each been awarded £3,500 for a three-month fixed-term research project, plus expenses for a trip to Venice to see the final days of the Biennale and the British Pavilion installation, Listening All Night to the Rain. The fellowship was judged by a panel including independent writer and curator Ekow Eshun, RCA BLK chair and artist Emily Moore, and Lisson Gallery’s Content Director Ossian Ward. The award encourages responses to the work of John Akomfrah and its related themes, ahead of a major monograph on the artist.
The Signal
The fellowship signals a deepening institutional commitment to supporting emerging Black artists through research and travel, with a specific focus on film, video, performance, writing, and image-making. Brown, a London-based Black British artist and recent RCA graduate, won a Sir Frank Bowling Scholarship and was shortlisted for the International Awards for Art Criticism. Mitchell, a multidisciplinary artist of mixed Caribbean and Scottish heritage, works toward decolonising archival practices through moving image, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. The award provides both financial support and direct exposure to the Venice Biennale, a key platform for career development.
- Artists: Canaan J Brown, Emily Alice Mitchell, John Akomfrah
- People: Ekow Eshun, Emily Moore, Ossian Ward
- Galleries: Lisson Gallery
- Locations: London, Venice
- Prices: £3,500
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