HERALBONY Art Prize, Which Drew Over 4,500 Works Worldwide, Opens Entries for 2026 on August 18.

HERALBONY Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “HERALBONY”) is proud to announce the launch of the international art award HERALBONY Art Prize 2026, a platform that celebrates the brilliant talents of artists with disabilities. In conjunction with this announcement, applications will open on Monday, August 18, 2025. Through this award, HERALBONY aspires for applicants to be recognized not merely as “people with disabilities,” but as individual artists whose talents can carve open new paths for their creative careers.

Special website for “HERALBONY Art Prize 2026”: https://artprize.heralbony.jp/en/

HERALBONY is a creative company that works with artists with disabilities and is based in Paris and Japan. With the mission “Beyond Labels”, aiming to create new values and cultures through art. In 2024, the inaugural HERALBONY Art Prize 2024 was held as the first global platform to honor the brilliance of artists with disabilities. For the second edition, HERALBONY Art Prize 2025 Exhibition Presented by Tokyo Tatemono｜Brillia, 2,650 artworks were submitted from 65 countries and regions worldwide. The Grand Prize was awarded to La Reine Charlotte by Evelyne Postic, an artist based in France. The Grand Prize winner received a prize of 3,000,000 JPY along with an artist contract with HERALBONY. Moving forward, their unique artistic voice will be amplified globally through various licensing collaborations.

In addition, five Corporate Awards and four Jury Awards were presented. For example, the Toyota Prize brought Takahiro Kojo’s work Soaring to life as a one-of-a-kind art rally car, which competed in the TGR Rally Challenge Round 8 in Ishikari, Hokkaido (July 2025). Furthermore, starting in August 2025, car accessories inspired by Soaring and Mr. Daisuke Shibuta’s A Pod of Whales (a HERALBONY Art Prize 2024 award-winning work) were made available at TOYOTA’s cultural and exhibition facilities.

Through such initiatives, over the past two years more than 4,500 works from 72 countries and regions have been submitted, broadening opportunities for award-winning artists.

The 2026 edition will be held under the theme:
“No limits. No barriers. Free your Creativity.”
The exhibition is scheduled to take place in late May 2026.

Theme: No limits. No barriers. Free your Creativity.

The HERALBONY Art Prize was founded in 2024 as an international art award celebrating the brilliance of artists with disabilities. To date, more than 4,500 works have been submitted from 72 countries and regions, across ages and nationalities, showcasing diverse artistic expressions from around the world.

The works submitted to this international platform continue to challenge conventional notions of “disability and art,” offering society new perspectives and values. Through this prize, HERALBONY is committed to supporting the long-term growth of artists, ensuring their one-of-a-kind expressions reach wider audiences.

Schedule

Award Ceremony & Exhibition: Late May – Late June 2026

How to Apply
Submit via the official online entry form.

Official website

English: https://artprize.heralbony.jp/en/

Application Period

From Monday, August 18, 2025, 17:00 JST

Until Sunday, November 2, 2025, 23:59 JST

Please see the official “HERALBONY Art Prize 2026” website for full details.

Judging Criteria

・Works that reflect the artist’s unique worldview, experiences, and questions toward society

・Works based on free-thinking, unconstrained by traditional art concepts

・Works that inspire empathy or new realizations

・Works that embody diversity and inclusivity, and demonstrate the potential for new forms of artistic expression

Awards

– Grand Prize (1 winner): 3,000,000 JPY

– Jury Awards (1 winner each): 300,000 JPY

– Corporate Awards (1 winner per sponsor company)

* Corporate Awards will be selected by multiple sponsoring companies. Winning works may be adopted in products, services, or initiatives of the sponsoring company.

All award-winning works will be subject to a licensing agreement with HERALBONY.

The jury for HERALBONY Art Prize 2026 will include distinguished experts from the arts and cultural sectors in Japan and abroad, who will help amplify the talents of artists on the global stage:

Hiromi Kurosawa, Chief Art Officer, HERALBONY

Katsuhiko Hibino, President, Tokyo University of the Arts

Harriet Salmon, Director of Art Partnerships, Creativity Explored (USA)

Klaus Mecherlein, Curator & Director, EUWARD Archive and Atelier Augustinum (Munich, Germany)

Together, they will discover and highlight artists whose works radiate originality and impact.

The symbol mark combines the “H” of HERALBONY and the “A” of Art, designed to resemble a spotlight illuminating the artist—the true protagonist of the prize. Through their expressions, artists will shine on new stages, spreading their wings as emerging talents.

HERALBONY is a creative company that works with artists with disabilities and is based in Paris and Japan. We craft unique brand experiences through art and storytelling, bringing inclusivity into business. By showcasing their unique expressions and sharing their narratives, we aim to change perceptions of disability and build a society where every ‘difference’ is valued.

Managing a collection of over 2,000 artworks by neurodiverse artists, we ensure fair royalties and foster a sustainable business model. Our in-house brand, HERALBONY, produces high-quality products infused with artistry and craftsmanship. Additionally, we collaborate with companies to co-create inclusive experiences and creative projects.

We also organize the HERALBONY Art Prize, an international award recognizing outstanding artists with disabilities. In July 2024, we established HERALBONY EUROPE in Paris—our first overseas subsidiary—to further expand our vision on a global scale.

Corporate Website: https://www.heralbony.jp/en
Online Store: https://www.store.heralbony.com/