Nick Cave will add another remarkable accolade to his long and varied career this month when the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London presents him with an Honorary Doctorate.
On September 23, Cave will be awarded the title at a ceremony held at the Royal Festival Hall on London’s Southbank. The honour will be conferred by RCA Chancellor Sir Jony Ive, the former Chief Design Officer at Apple and one of the most influential designers of the modern era.
The RCA describes its honorary doctorates as the highest recognition the institution can bestow, acknowledging “exceptional accomplishments” across creative disciplines. The ceremony will also celebrate the graduation of more than 1,000 students from the RCA’s Design and Communication programs.
Cave, best known as the frontman of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, is one of Australia’s most significant cultural exports. Across four decades, he has shaped music, literature, film and visual art, with a career that resists categorisation. While his 18th studio album with The Bad Seeds, Wild God, was released earlier this year to acclaim, Cave’s creative scope reaches far beyond music.
His writing career includes novels such as And the Ass Saw the Angel and The Death of Bunny Munro, the latter currently being adapted into a six-part television series starring Matt Smith. Cave and longtime collaborator Warren Ellis have composed the score for the adaptation, which is due later this year. A preview event for the series is already confirmed for the London Literature Festival on October 30, also at the Royal Festival Hall.
Cave’s work in the visual arts has also attracted attention. In 2022, he debuted his ceramic series The Devil – A Life, inspired by his collection of Victorian Staffordshire pottery figures. The series of 17 sculptures was his formal introduction to the gallery world, further highlighting his interdisciplinary reach.
This latest recognition arrives during an especially prolific period. In July, Cave received dual honours in the French city of Arles while on his solo tour. He was named a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by Bertrand Burgalat, president of the National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing, and was also presented with the City of Arles Medal by Mayor Patrick de Carolis, who praised Cave as both “a citizen of the world and a citizen of Arles.”
Cave’s tour has taken him across Europe this summer, concluding with two shows in Luxembourg this week. In January 2026, he will return to Australia and New Zealand for a long-awaited run of headline shows with The Bad Seeds.
The RCA, founded in 1837, is regarded as the world’s leading art and design university. Its alumni include luminaries such as David Hockney, Tracey Emin and Sir James Dyson. By awarding Nick Cave an Honorary Doctorate, the college acknowledges not only his contributions as a musician, but his ongoing influence across multiple creative landscapes.
For Cave, the recognition adds to a legacy that has continually pushed artistic boundaries, reinforcing his place as one of the most significant and original cultural voices of his generation.
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