Natasha Jen and Eddie Opara Named Honorary Fellows of the Royal College of Art

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Natasha Jen and Eddie Opara. Photos courtesy of the Royal College of Art.

Pentagram Partners Natasha Jen and Eddie Opara have been named Honorary Fellows of the Royal College of Art, the world's leading art and design university. Jen and Opara were among 10 people awarded this year with Honorary Doctorates and Honorary Fellowships, the highest recognition the College can bestow upon an individual to celebrate their exceptional accomplishments. Honorary Doctorate recipients include Edward Enninful OBE, Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue and European Editorial Director of Vogue; Ian Griffiths, Creative Director of Max Mara; and Dr. Dava Newman, Director of the MIT Media Lab.

The awards were presented by Sir Jony Ive, the College's Chancellor, across three Convocation ceremonies that were held over three days in September 2023 at the Royal Festival Hall and the Royal Albert Hall, alongside over 2,000 students graduating from the RCA in the fields of Design, Communication, Architecture and the Arts and Humanities. The September 14 ceremony with Opara’s award can be viewed here, and the September 19 ceremony with Jen’s award can be viewed here.

Honorary Doctorates:

Edward Enninful OBE, Editor-in-Chief, British Vogue

Ian Griffiths, Creative Director, Max Mara

Wayne McGregor CBE, Artistic Director, Studio Wayne McGregor

Professor Dava Newman, Director, MIT Media Lab

Vera Neubauer, Animator and Filmmaker

Professor Lou Yongqi, Dean, College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University

Honorary Fellowships:

Professor Terry Irwin, Director, Transition Design Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

Natasha Jen, Partner, Pentagram

Eddie Opara, Partner, Pentagram

Helen Protheroe, Executive Director, Global Partnerships and Philanthropy, Allen Institute