Earlier this week, Instagram announced a new awards series called Rings, which is meant to honor creators on the plaform. And the awards have a star-studded list of judges for the inaugural awards, including film director Spike Lee, fashion designer Marc Jacobs, Instagram head Adam Mosseri, and hypebeast incarnate KAWS, aka artist Brian Donnelly.
While the Meta-owned social media platform has a snazzy website announcing the awards, the company hasn’t revealed much in the way of specifics—like what the categories will be or how people will be nominated. But it did say that winners will receive a physical golden ring designed by fashion designer by Grace Wales Bonner—who is also a judge—as well as a golden ring around their Instagram profile and stories. Winners will be announced next week on October 16.
“We felt that it was time to have an award that recognizes people who take these creative chances on our platform,” Eva Chen, the head of fashion partnerships at Instagram, who helped conceptualize the awards program, told the Hollywood Reporter. “These people are cultural catalysts, and they’re sparking conversations, and by doing that, they encourage people to express themselves as well.”
According to Chen, the judges worked with Instagram’s creator teams to narrow the field of over 3 billion users to just 25 winners. The winners will span content topics and categories, from fashion to sports, with a wide array of winners.
“I think that one of the most magical things about Instagram is that it shows every moment of someone’s journey,” Chen said. “For something like this Rings program, we’re rewarding and awarding these creators who have opened up their lives and opened up their art and their vision across all the different surfaces of Instagram.”
As for KAWS, the artist said in an Instagram post that he was “honored to be part of an award that celebrates creators who aren’t afraid to take creative chances and do it their way. Creativity takes many forms – it’s process, perspective, and persistence. Excited to recognize the work that pushes culture forward.”
It’s not the artist’s first time serving as a judge either. In 2011, KAWS served a guest judge on Season 2 of the short-lived Bravo reality series Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, in which artists competed for a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum and a prize of $100,000.
Winners of Rings, however, seem to be only getting bragging rights—and the gold rings.
