Film director Steve McQueen awarded the 2026 Erasmus Prize

The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation has awarded the 2026 Erasmus Prize to artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen. According to the foundation, McQueen’s works embody the theme of this year’s prize: Ecce Homo, Behold the Human Being.

“McQueen is known for exploring who we are in moments of vulnerability, how we treat each other, and how history shapes our present, without judgment or fear of moral complexity.”

Born and raised in London to a father from Grenada and a mother from Trinidad, McQueen (1969) has built his career on blending art and film, the foundation said. He first gained recognition in the 1990s as a visual artist working with video and moved into cinema early this century. McQueen made his debut as a feature film director with Hunger in 2008, followed by Shame (2011), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Widows (2018), and Blitz (2024). He won an Academy Award for Best Picture for 12 Years a Slave, making him the first Black filmmaker to do so.

In 2023, McQueen released his documentary Occupied City. The documentary reframed Amsterdam’s streets, juxtaposing wartime occupation with daily life during the coronavirus pandemic. The 34-hour version of Occupied City was shown on the facade of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam last year.

The Erasmus Prize is an annual prize awarded to individuals or institutions that have made an exceptional contribution to the arts, culture, or social sciences. It is considered one of Europe’s most distinguished recognitions. Other winners include South African comedian Trevor Noah (2023), American composer John Adams (2019), and Donna Jeanne Haraway (2025), an American professor emerita in the history of consciousness and feminist studies.