Nottingham furniture designer Mac Collins has been named the first recipient of the Ralph Saltzman Prize, a new annual award presented by London's Design Museum.
The prize rewards up-and-coming product designers with a £5,000 bursary and the chance to exhibit their work in a solo show at the museum, in a bid to "champion new talent and nurture the development of a vibrant design sector".
Collins, who is known for his afrofuturistic carpentry pieces, was selected by a judging panel including members of the Design Museum's curatorial team and the daughter of late American textile designer Ralph Saltzman, after whom the award is named.
Mac Collins (top) has designed furniture including the Concur Chair (above). Photo is by Jason Yates "The judges were almost surprised to find themselves awarding this prize to a furniture designer given the scope of design today," said the Design Museum's chief curator Justin McGuirk.
"But it was the way Mac Collins channels an alternative cultural heritage through otherwise traditional objects that felt like it was pushing in a new direction."
Collins first rose to prominence with his throne-like Iklwa chair, which he designed while a graduate student at Northumbria University and which was later picked up for mass production by English furniture maker Benchmark.
His work often explores the African diaspora and his own Afro-Caribbean heritage, whether creating a homage to Senufo stools or naming Iklwa after the s...