The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, which carries a $250,000 cash award and honors someone who has significantly contributed to the arts, was won by Thelma Golden, director and head curator of New York’s Studio Museum in Harlem.
Since Golden took over as director of the Studio Museum in 2005, the organization has experienced significant growth ever since. It is now relocating into a new residence on West 125th Street as it continues to physically expand.
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She had previously served as a curator at the Whitney Museum, where she curated exhibitions including the 1993 Biennial and 1994’s “Black Male,” a thorough examination of perceptions toward Blackness and masculinity in contemporary art that continues to have an impact on many people today.
Golden delivered a statement that expresses gratitude for the recognition, “As a curator and museum director who has been privileged to work for and on behalf of artists for my entire career, I am humbled to receive this prize that was created by an artist and has been given to so many creative leaders I greatly admire. Working in service of artists in general, and very specifically Black artists, has allowed me to engage broadly in the world. I gratefully accept the Gish Prize and wholly acknowledge what an honor it has been to be able to provide space, alongside the many institutional colleagues, Board members, and supporters who are equally committed to advancing the work these artists do.”
Filmmakers Spike Lee and Ava DuVernay, architects Maya Lin, choreographer and dancer Bill T. Jones, and author Chinua Achebe are a few of the award’s previous recipients.
