London's cultural calendar gained a meaningful new entry last week with the inauguration of the Patina Art Residency, a bold new initiative from Patina Hotels & Resorts. Held in the presence of renowned collectors, curators, and patrons, the launch event signals the start of an annual art award and residency designed to amplify the voices of emerging talents—those whose work explores the intersection of creativity, environment, and global consciousness.
The inaugural edition, culminating in October 2025, introduces a theme as fluid as its ambitions: Fluid Worlds. Artists are invited—via nominations from leading galleries—to reflect on shifting boundaries: between nations, disciplines, materials, or even mindsets. One winning artist will receive a month-long, fully supported residency at the design-forward Patina Maldives, Fari Islands, where art is not simply curated, but lived.
The award’s distinguished jury spans continents and disciplines, chaired by Maria Sukkar, Co-Chair of the TATE Middle East North Africa Acquisitions Committee and owner of the iSelf Collection. Judges include Christian Levett, founder of Femmes Artistes Musée Mougins (FAMM); Arturo Galansino, Director of Palazzo Strozzi in Florence; Countess Marie-Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre of Spirit Now London; Sana Rezwan, founder of the Public Arts Trust of India; and Alan Lo, co-founder of the YAL Foundation in Singapore.
Their mission? To identify and uplift work that not only demonstrates artistic excellence, but also reflects a deeper commitment to positive change—socially, environmentally, or culturally.
Hubert Bonnet, founder of Fondation CAB (Belgium)
Charlotte Colbert, filmmaker and multimedia artist
Ilaria Ferragamo, designer and collector
Masha Nosova, next-gen investor and collector
Sarah Von Boetticher, historian and custodian of the Von Boetticher Collection
The chosen artist will create their work at the Patina Maldives, an architectural sanctuary envisioned by Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan. There, creativity thrives amid curated experiences—from holistic wellness to sound and culinary programs—and alongside a permanent art collection that includes Skyspace Amarta by light and space pioneer James Turrell.
“We’re creating space for emerging artists to explore their practice in an environment designed to inspire. This residency reflects our commitment to meaningful connections between art, place, and purpose.”Cristiano Rinaldi, President of the Capella Hotel Group
The unveiling of the winning artwork will take place in London on October 9, 2025, promising an evening that unites the art world’s most discerning voices with those of tomorrow’s creative vanguard.
As with Patina’s hospitality philosophy, the residency is not about grand gestures, but intentional ones. It offers artists not only time and space, but the kind of surroundings that nourish reflection—on material, on message, and on the evolving role of art in shaping more thoughtful futures.
In a cultural landscape often defined by immediacy, the Patina Art Residency offers something rare: a slower, deeper rhythm. One that fosters not just production, but transformation.