Aase Agnes Nielsen, Julia O. Laszczka and Zuzanna Kozłowska have received this year’s 15JF Emerging Artist Award for their graduation works from Denmark’s art academies. Each artist receives a grant of DKK 50,000 and an 11-month professional development programme at Art Hub Copenhagen.
Three young artists have been honoured with the 15JF Emerging Artist Award 2026, presented by 15. Juni Fonden to recognise outstanding graduation works from Denmark’s art academies. This year’s recipients are Aase Nielsen for Gudesange and Julia O. Laszczka for Arch, both from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts’ Schools of Visual Arts, and Zuzanna Kozłowska for Abstract man (1–7) from Funen Art Academy.
The three artists occupy distinct artistic positions, working across film, music, installation, sculpture, painting and architecture, among other disciplines. Their works explore themes including cultural history, gender and religion, the physical manifestations of power, and the relationship between the body, space and abstraction.
Aase Nielsen: Gudesange, 2026. 15 Juni Fonden. Photo: Denke Studio
Aase Nielsen was awarded for the graduation work 'Gudesange' (The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts). Working across music and film, Nielsen draws on Eddic and skaldic verse to explore Old Norse cultural heritage and the voices preserved or silenced during the shift to Christianity. Through understated layers of song, whispers, and cinematic imagery, the work turns historical material into an active exploration of language, gender, and power.
From Art Academy to Independent Practice
With the 15JF Emerging Artist Award, 15. Juni Fonden aims to support recent graduates as they transition from education to independent artistic careers. The award is part of the foundation’s UNG KUNST programme, which focuses on creating better opportunities for young artists to develop and sustain their practices after graduation.
Each recipient receives DKK 50,000 and an 11-month professional development programme at Art Hub Copenhagen at Thoravej 29 in Copenhagen. Here, the artists gain access to studios and workshops, individual mentoring and professional guidance, as well as opportunities to become part of a wider artistic and interdisciplinary community.
With the 15JF Emerging Artist Award, we want to recognise both what these three young artists have achieved in their graduation works.
Helene Kähler Hjenner, Chair of the Board of 15. Juni Fonden.
“With the 15JF Emerging Artist Award, we want to recognise both what these three young artists have achieved in their graduation works and, through the grant programme, give them the opportunity to further develop their artistic practices as part of a strong professional community and within a supportive artistic environment. This is precisely the process we focus on through 15. Juni Fonden’s UNG KUNST programme, which supports young artists in their transition from education to independent practice,” says Helene Kähler Hjenner, Chair of the Board of 15. Juni Fonden.
Julia O. Laszczka: Arch, 2026. 15 Juni Fonden. Photo: Denke Studio
Julia O. Laszczka was recognized for 'Arch' (The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts). Taking the office desk as a focal point, the work Arch consists of two heavy, dark-brown desks positioned parallel to one another, reflecting on the surfaces and positions of power. This solid presence is disrupted by colored metallic paper and plexiglass slipping through the joints, opening up sensory cracks where control meets fragility and resistance.
Expert Jury Selects This Year’s Award Recipients
This year’s three recipients were selected by 15. Juni Fonden’s expert jury based on their graduation works presented at the art academies’ degree shows in 2026. The jury consists of Mikkel Bogh, professor at the University of Copenhagen and the Centre for Practice-Based Art Studies, and writers and art critics Mai Misfeldt and Maria Kjær Themsen.
Zuzanna Kozłowska: Abstract Man (1-7), 2026. 15 Juni Fonden. Photo: Denke Studio
Zuzanna Kozłowska was honored for 'Abstract man (1-7)' (Det Fynske Kunstakademi). Spanning painting, sculpture, and architecture, the installation features seven interconnected, red-painted wooden boxes that follow the exhibition walls and round a corner. Drawing from and departing from modernist abstraction, Kozłowska makes the surrounding room essential, drawing the viewer’s body and perception into the dialogue between form and space.
Combining financial support with a long-term professional development programme, the award aims to provide the three artists with a solid foundation for further developing their practices and establishing themselves in the art world after graduating.
