Joel Nichols [BFA Hons '23] — the UM's 100th Rhodes Scholar — has won the Young Artist Award in London.
School of Art alum Joel Nichols [BFA Honours '23] has received international recognition as the recipient of the Young Artist Award at the 2026 Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award, presented by the National Portrait Gallery in London, England.
The annual competition celebrates excellence in contemporary portraiture and is one of the world's leading portrait awards. This year's shortlist was selected from 1,474 submissions by artists representing 63 countries. Nichols received the award for the large-scale oil painting In Our Borderlands, currently on view as part of the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award exhibition at the Gallery.
Born in Birmingham, England, and raised in Winnipeg, Nichols is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans portraiture, ceramics, drawing, painting and printmaking. Their work explores identity, vulnerability, bodily autonomy, human connection and the dynamics between artist, sitter and viewer.
The honour marks another milestone for Nichols, who became the University of Manitoba's 100th Rhodes Scholar and the first Rhodes Scholar from the School of Art in 2023. The scholarship enabled Nichols to pursue graduate studies at the University of Oxford, where they are completing master's degrees at the Ruskin School of Art.
"Honestly, it feels quite surreal," Nichols says. "The last few years have been an absolute whirlwind of experiences. Standing in the National Portrait Gallery and seeing my work surrounded by such extraordinary talent has left me with a profound sense of both awe and humility. More than anything, it motivates and inspires me to keep creating and pushing my practice forward."
In Our Borderlands began in an Oxford dormitory, where Nichols and friends gathered to cook, share meals and build community. During one gathering, Nichols noticed light refracting from a mirror across the face of a friend, Jo. That quiet moment became the foundation for the portrait.
"The work was created as part of a series exploring vulnerability as a relational space rather than a position of precarity," Nichols explains. "It depicts a scene from my friend Jo's university dormitory in Oxford, where we fostered a sense of community and cooked and ate together. Jo had a lot of control over the creative process, and I liken the creation of the portraits to an act of care. I hope that the work questions the inherent hierarchies of portrait-making, inviting the viewer to consider the relationship between the subject, the artist, and themselves."
The National Portrait Gallery describes Nichols' process as slow and attentive, beginning with several days of sketching before moving into paint. In the finished work, Jo's steady gaze is rendered with careful attention, while shifting patterns of coloured light move across the face and a soft-focus background draws the viewer's attention back to the sitter. The judges praised In Our Borderlands for its "distinctly mysterious atmosphere" and technically accomplished use of light, noting how the painting conveys both psychological depth and spatial complexity.
For Dr. David Foster, Associate Director (Undergraduate Programs), the award reflects the creativity, curiosity and dedication Nichols demonstrated throughout their time at the School of Art.
"It is amazing to see how Joel has continued to develop and achieve remarkable success," Foster says. "His final exhibition project at the School of Art — a series of ceramic spheres suspended from the ceiling that seemed to defy gravity — was all the more amazing as he had only begun taking ceramics the year before. I am not surprised to see Joel continue to grow as an artist and scholar, and the School is so proud of his accomplishments."
Looking back on a journey that has taken them from the School of Art to Oxford and now to international recognition, Nichols says each milestone has reinforced their decision to pursue art.
"It's been nothing but affirming," Nichols says. "When I first switched my degree from the sciences to the BFA at the UM, I had many doubts, but I followed my heart and passion anyway. The series of absolutely surreal events that have unfolded over the last three years feels like confirmation that I'm on the right path. It makes me excited to keep creating and to see where my art might take me next."
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