Spotlight
V&A East Storehouse has been named a finalist for the 2026 Art Fund Museum of the Year prize, recognizing the new East London site for its fresh approach to public engagement and access to collections. Located in the Olympic Park in Stratford, the space has rethought how museum collections can be experienced by opening up storage and display in ways that bring visitors into closer contact with the V&A’s holdings. The winner of the £120,000 prize will be announced on June 25, 2026, at the Cutty Sark in London. In 2023, the Foundation and Warner Music Group jointly provided £10 million to create The David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performing Arts at V&A East and to secure 90,000 items from the David Bowie Archive for the nation and the public.
Wavelet Medical has partnered with Aegis Ventures to advance a non-invasive, AI-powered fetal brain monitoring platform that detects fetal distress in real time and helps prevent avoidable brain injury at birth. The collaboration, supported by $7 million in seed funding, aims to advance the technology from laboratory research to broader clinical testing and commercialization, with the goal of improving outcomes for both mothers and babies while reducing unnecessary interventions. It's a significant step toward a more precise and preventive standard of care in fetal medicine, with Wavelet already being tested at three clinical sites and preparing for expanded trials. Wavelet received the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale Award in 2023, an accelerator managed by Yale Ventures, which supported its early development.
The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction has announced its 2026 judging panel and opened submissions for books published between November 1, 2025, and October 31, 2026. Chaired by broadcaster and arts journalist Kirsty Lang, the panel brings together expertise from literature, journalism, bookselling, and cultural life, reflecting the prize’s broad engagement with contemporary nonfiction. The 2026 judges also include Bea Carvalho, Dr. Tiffany Jenkins, Sam Leith, Ravi Mattu, and Elif Shafak. The prize is open to authors of any nationality and recognizes nonfiction across fields, including current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography, and the arts. Key dates for the year ahead include a June 5 submission deadline, a longlist in September, a shortlist in October, and the winner announcement on November 4. The awards event will be generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation.
Jacob’s Pillow’s 94th Dance Festival will bring a wide-ranging summer season to Becket, Massachusetts, from June 24 through August 30, 2026, with performances, talks, exhibits, workshops, livestreams, and community programming featuring artists from the United States and abroad. Spanning 10 weeks and multiple venues across the campus, the festival reflects Jacob’s Pillow’s distinctive role as both a presenting organization and a gathering place for artistic exchange, learning, and public engagement. This year’s program includes major milestones and returns, including San Francisco Ballet’s first appearance at the festival in 70 years, Akram Khan Company’s final touring production, and Martha Graham Dance Company’s centennial year. The season will also open with a gala honoring New York City Ballet principal dancer Tiler Peck as the recipient of the 2026 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. Alongside performances, the festival will offer public conversations, archival and gallery exhibitions, educational activities, and family and community events throughout the summer. The Foundation is proud to support Jacob’s Pillow and Tiler Peck.
Providing many of the world's best researchers, scientists, and universities with support, and funding to discover breakthroughs that solve humankind's greatest challenges.
The Foundation contributes to renowned institutions that showcase the breadth of arts and culture, including performance, exhibition and education.
The Blavatnik Archive is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to preserving and disseminating materials that contribute to the study of 20th-century Jewish and world history, with a special emphasis on World War I, World War II, and Soviet Russia.
