TheBlueHour • Katja Beckman Ojala • Photo Katja Beckman Ojala
Winner of the Craft Award 2026 is Textile Artist Katja Beckman Ojala
On September 30, the Craft Award (Konsthantverkspriset) was presented during the inauguration of Stockholm Craft Week at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern in Stockholm. Textile artist Katja Beckman Ojala was named the winner of the award, receiving a prize of 20,000 SEK and a solo exhibition at Konsthantverkarna Stockholm. Congratulations, Katja!
Jury Statement
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With a profound sensibility for material, technical precision, and rhythm, the laureate revitalizes hand-woven tapestry as an artistic medium. Through a consistent engagement with color, scale, and tactility, she creates textile works where craft interacts with a powerful spatial presence. Drawing inspiration from the slow formations of nature, she constructs pieces where structure, light, and materiality interplay to create an expression that is both restrained and potent. The laureate demonstrates how craft can be physically present, poetic, and technically advanced all at once, and how the textile image can convey both tranquility and weight in its encounter with architecture and humanity.
The jury consisted of Hanna Grill, CEO of Konsthantverkarna; Maj Sandell, CEO of Konsthantverkscentrum; and Björn Nordin, CEO of Svensk Form.
About the Laureate Katja Beckman Ojala
Katja Beckman Ojala (b. 1990) lives and works in Skara, Sweden. She earned her Master’s degree in Textile Art from Konstfack in 2016 and has previously studied weaving at the Kawashima Textile School in Kyoto and Handarbetets Vänner (Friends of Handicraft) in Stockholm. Beckman Ojala’s work has been exhibited at institutions including the Australian Tapestry Workshop in Melbourne, Skövde Art Museum, Berg Gallery in Stockholm, Boon Room in Paris, Dunkers Kulturhus in Helsingborg, and the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia in Tallinn. In February 2026, her public commission The Blue Hour was unveiled at Gotland Regiment P18, commissioned by Public Art Agency Sweden (Statens Konstråd).
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In my artistic practice, I work with sculptural weaves, most often in a monochrome color palette. They are abstract depictions of nature and the actual experience of being within it. Through the process of weaving, the work develops its own will and life. Rya is a recurring technique; the hanging threads distort and obscure what lies beneath. Guided by materials, form, and textile techniques, I explore how the tactile encounter can communicate a narrative or emotion without using words.
About the Craft Award
Since 2016, Svensk Form has honored innovative craft with the potential to become a future classic through an annual award. The Craft Award is presented by the main organizers of Stockholm Craft Week: Konsthantverkarna, Svensk Form, and Konsthantverkscentrum. In addition to the monetary prize, the recipient is granted a solo exhibition at Konsthantverkarna in Stockholm. The aim of the award is to recognize and celebrate an individual and distinctive artistic practice within the field of craft.
Previous Winners
The winner of the Craft Award 2024 was woodcarver Carsten Nilsson. In previous years, the award was presented in collaboration with Stockholms Auktionsverk (2023) and the auction house Lauritz.com (2019–2022).
Linn Sjöstedt (2023) Anton Alvarez (2022) Maja Michaelsdotter (2021), Haidar Mahdi (2020), Hanna Hansdotter (2019), Frida Fjellman (2018) Anna Elzer Oscarson (2016).