Taylor Swift to Be First Recipient of Artist Director Honors at 2026 MTV VMAs
The 2026 VMAs will air live from Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater on Sept. 27.
CBS and MTV have announced that Taylor Swift will be the first recipient of the Artist Director Honors at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards. The new award recognizes musicians who have made significant contributions to music videos through their work behind the camera, pushing the boundaries of visual storytelling. Swift, currently a seven-time VMAs best direction nominee and four-time winner, made her directorial debut in 2020 with the music video for "The Man," earning her best direction at that year’s VMAs.
She followed this with her filmmaking debut, "All Too Well: The Short Film," which won video of the year, best longform video and best direction at the 2022 VMAs. Swift has been nominated for best direction a total of 11 times, including for "The Man," "Cardigan," "Willow," "All Too Well: The Short Film," "Anti-Hero," "Fortnight (feat.
Post Malone)" and "Opalite." The Artist Director Honors come as Swift enters this year’s VMAs with 11 nominations, just behind Madonna’s 13.
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Also reported by 5 other outlets
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