Vilcek Foundation will award $150,000 in prizes to immigrant musicians in 2023

NEW YORK, March 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2023, the Vilcek Foundation will award three Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Music of $50,000 each. The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Music will be awarded to immigrant artists whose early-career work represents a significant contribution to their field or genre. 

The Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Music

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The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise are a part of the Vilcek Foundation Prizes Program.  Awarded annually since 2006, the Vilcek Foundation Prizes are awarded in biomedical science, and in a rotating category in the arts and humanities. In 2023, the arts and humanities category is music. The Vilcek Foundation Prizes recognize and celebrate the contributions of immigrants to the arts, culture, and society in the United States.

"Music has a power to transport the listener and to evoke poignant aspects of the human experience—from the universal to the sublime," says Marica Vilcek, vice chairman and secretary of the Vilcek Foundation. "With the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Music, we celebrate young immigrant musicians whose work transcends and resounds."

Adds Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel, "Music permeates language and borders. The physiological and emotional responses we experience when we hear a compelling rhythm or melody are part of what makes us human. 

"With the 2023 prizes, we honor the contributions of immigrant composers, musicians, and conductors to the soundscape of the United States," Kinsel says.

Eligibility and Application Details

To be eligible for a Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Music, candidates must have five years of professional experience, and must have lived in the United States for a total of at least four years. Foreign-born composers, songwriters, conductors, DJs, instrumentalists, producers, singers and vocalists may apply for the 2023 prizes.

Applicants must have been born outside the United States to non-American parents, and intend to pursue a career in the United States. DACA recipients, asylees, and asylum seekers are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Candidates must have been born on or after January 1, 1984. Exceptions will be made for applicants who were born on or after January 1, 1982, and experienced career interruptions due to caregiving, medical, military, or parental leave.

Applications for the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Music will be accepted through June 10, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. EDT. Full application details and eligibility requirements are available at the Vilcek Foundation at vilcek.org.

Individuals with questions about the application process or the Vilcek Foundation Prizes program should direct their questions to Chief Program Officer Shinnie Kim at [email protected].

The Vilcek Foundation

The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation of 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—to honor immigrant contributions to the United States, and more broadly to foster appreciation of the arts and sciences—was inspired by the couple's respective careers in biomedical science and art history. Since 2000, the foundation has awarded over $6.4 million in prizes to foreign-born individuals and supported organizations with over $5.6 million in grants.

The Vilcek Foundation is a private operating foundation, a federally tax-exempt nonprofit organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3).

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

SOURCE The Vilcek Foundation