Mac Collins bags the first ‘Ralph Saltzman Prize’ by Design Museum

Design museum announces Mac Collins, an upcoming designer and artist from Nottingham, United Kingdom as the first recipient of the new international ‘Ralph Saltzman Prize’. As part of the award, Collins has received a £5,000 bursary and the opportunity to exhibit his work at the Design Museum, in London. The prize pays tribute to Ralph Saltzman, founder of Designtex and has been created by his daughter Lisa Saltzman, on behalf of The Saltzman Family Foundation, in collaboration with the Design Museum. “I created the Ralph Saltzman Prize as a legacy to my father. He was an innovator and a pioneer who had a keen eye, great taste and he thought outside the box. The Ralph Saltzman Prize will be a way to give young designers an opportunity, an honorarium and a show,” says Lisa.

“It is an honour to receive the inaugural Saltzman Prize at the Design Museum. The bursary provides a degree of financial, and thus creative, freedom to communicate a current narrative through a new collection of works,” shares Collins. His work will be on display at the Design Museum starting from 2 February to 2 April, 2022. His exhibition will include three chairs which have helped evolve and develop Collins’ design practice- the Iklwa, Concur and Jupiter chair. The exhibition will also feature some of Collins' smaller works, process material, drawings, models and his tools. “Mac is a worthy winner. In addition to the aesthetic quality, Mac brings personal narratives into his work and considers his practice as an exploration of his identity within the African Diaspora, and that is interesting,” shares Lisa.

The nominees' work was reviewed by a panel of judges which included Design Museum’s Directors and Lisa Saltzman. Mac was nominated by Industrial Facility, a London based studio which works in product, furniture and exhibition design. Collins' work stood out to the judges for the “deeply personal design” which made him worthy of the award. “He is breaking away from paradigms and introducing clean decisions, and there is something quite strong in his processes as a designer,” saysJustin McGuirk, chair of Judges for The Saltzman prize and Chief Curator at the Design Museum.

“This accolade also provides a physical platform to present work within an institution that carries considerable weight. Though I presented work at the Design Museum for Discovered in September, I am yet to show a solo retrospective of this nature, an opportunity for which I am humbled and grateful,” concludes Collins.

Read more about the other nominees of ‘The Ralph Saltzman Prize’ by Design Museum here.