Yinka Shonibare named as artist collaborator on winning design team for Queen Elizabeth II National Memorial in London

Featuring a monumental sculpture by Yinka Shonibare, Foster + Partners' has been announced as the the winning design team for the Queen Elizabeth II National Memorial. Selected through an international competition, final designs will be unveiled in 2026, to coincide with what would have been Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday, with construction scheduled to begin in 2027.

Shonibare's contribution to the memorial will take the form of a Wind Sculpture, to be positioned in the Commonwealth Garden at St. James’s Park. Renowned for his work addressing themes of identity, colonial history and cultural hybridity, Shonibare brings a significant and timely dimension to this major public commission.

Foster + Partners’ winning design concept celebrates Queen Elizabeth II’s life through a time of great change, balancing tradition and modernity, public duty and private faith, the United Kingdom and a global Commonwealth. The design concept illustrates how she brought these dualities together: two gates, two gardens, joined by a bridge and unifying path.

Yinka Shonibare comments:

“I’m excited to be part of this commission for a national memorial celebrating the remarkable achievements of the late Queen. As a champion of the Commonwealth and the arts, particularly through her involvement with the Royal Academy, this project feels especially close to my heart. I very much look forward to contributing to this special project which celebrates her extraordinary impact as part of her long-lasting legacy.”