Vilcek Foundation Announces Expansion of Prizes Program: Open Call for Immigrant Artists and Curators

The Vilcek Foundation will award $300,000 in prizes to immigrant artists and curators in 2025 with the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Visual Arts and the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Curatorial Work.

NEW YORK, March 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Vilcek Foundation in 2025 will double the amount of prizes they award in the arts and humanities as part of the philanthropic organization's annual prize program. Applications for the 2025 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Visual Arts and in Curatorial Work are now open; applications will be accepted through June 10, 2024, at 5:00pm ET.

View PDF

Since 2006, the foundation has awarded the Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Biomedical Science and in a rotating category in the arts and humanities. With the 2025 prize cycle, the foundation will continue to award the Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Biomedical Science, but will award prizes in two separate categories in the arts and humanities: Visual Arts and Curatorial Work.

The Vilcek Foundation Prizes are awarded to immigrant professionals living and working in the United States. The prizes recognize and celebrate the contributions of foreign-born scientists and artists to the country's arts, culture, and society, and help to raise awareness of the importance of immigration for intellectual and cultural life in the United States.

This expansion of the Prize program coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Vilcek Foundation's establishment in 2000. "As we come to this important milestone, we are increasing our overall prizemaking by 50%," says Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel. "Immigrant artists and cultural workers have had an indelible impact on culture and society in the United States, but are historically under-supported financially. With the expansion of our prizemaking to foreign-born professionals in the arts and humanities, the foundation can have a meaningful impact on these individuals, and increase recognition of diverse immigrant professionals in the United States."

The Vilcek Foundation Prizes are composed of the Vilcek Prizes and the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise. The Vilcek Prizes are $100,000 awards that are bestowed on senior professionals in biomedical research or in the arts and humanities whose work has had a profound impact on their field; Vilcek Prize winners are selected by a jury of industry experts appointed by the Vilcek Foundation. The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise are $50,000 awards that are bestowed on young professionals who are selected through a juried open-call process; three Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise are awarded in each category each year.

In 2025, three Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise will be awarded in the category of Visual Arts, and three Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise will be awarded in recognition of Curatorial Work, totaling $300,000 in prizes.

To be eligible for a Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise, applicants must have been born outside the United States to non-American parents, and must have lived and worked in the United States for at least four years. Applicants must be full-time arts or cultural professionals, and must intend to continue their career in visual art or in curatorial work. Candidates must be 38 years old or younger at the time of application; exceptions will be made for candidates up to the age of 40 who have taken time off work for family, medical, or military leave.

Applicants for the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Visual Arts will be considered across the following areas of practice: painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, printmaking, ceramics, textile, installation, film/video, digital art, and performance that manifests in time-based visual presentation. Applicants for the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Curatorial Work will be considered for having organized and developed single-artist or group exhibitions at any scale or extending over any time period with private or public institutions, foundations, galleries, biennials or art fairs, or in independent curatorial practice.

All applications will be reviewed after the close of the open call on June 10, 2024. Prizewinners in each category will be selected by a jury of experts appointed by the Vilcek Foundation. Prizewinners are selected for the artistic value, intellectual rigor, and cultural integrity and impact of their work.

The 2025 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Visual Art and the 2025 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Curatorial Work will be announced in early 2025. Prizewinners will each receive an unrestricted cash award of $50,000 and a commemorative trophy. Prize recipients will also be celebrated in a media campaign published by the Vilcek Foundation highlighting their professional achievements and life experiences.

Full application details and eligibility requirements are available at the Vilcek Foundation website at https://vilcek.co/2025cpp-art-prn. Please direct any questions about the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise or the application process to Program Officer Zahra Banyamerian at [email protected].

The Vilcek Foundation

The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation for the arts and sciences. The foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the foundation was inspired by the couple's respective careers in biomedical science and art history. Since 2000, the foundation has awarded over $7 million in prizes to foreign-born individuals and has supported organizations with over $6 million in grants.

The Vilcek Foundation is a private operating foundation, a federally tax-exempt nonprofit organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3). To learn more, please visit vilcek.org.

Contact
Elizabeth Boylan
The Vilcek Foundation
212-472-2500
[email protected]

SOURCE The Vilcek Foundation