Guggenheim Museum Unveils New $50,000 Art Prize to Support Emerging Artists

Guggenheim Museum Unveils New $50,000 Art Prize

The Guggenheim Museum has introduced the Jack Galef Visual Arts Award, a new $50,000 prize established to honor artists of exceptional talent. Awarded every two years, the prize celebrates innovation, depth, and visionary work in the visual arts.

The award is funded through a gift from the Jack Galef Estate. It marks the Guggenheim’s renewed commitment to supporting contemporary artists, following the discontinuation of the Hugo Boss Prize. The Hugo Boss Prize, valued at $100,000, was awarded biennially between 1996 and mid-decade.

New York City-based artist Catherine Telford Keogh is the inaugural recipient of the Jack Galef Visual Arts Award. Chosen by a juried panel from the Guggenheim’s curatorial team, Keogh’s practice focuses on analyzing value, waste, and consumption through biological and commoditized lifecycles.

The artist, who was born in Toronto and now lives in Brooklyn, holds advanced degrees from Yale University in Sculpture and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She also serves as a faculty member at Parsons School of Design at the New School.

In a press statement, the Guggenheim’s Director and CEO praised Keogh for exemplifying the originality and depth the award aims to champion. Keogh expressed that receiving the award is timely, especially amid challenges faced by arts educators, citing significant faculty reductions at her institution.

Keogh plans to dedicate part of the prize money to research on the microbial life interacting with industrial contaminants at the Gowanus Canal Superfund Site. This project investigates themes of survival and persistence in neglected environments, questioning what types of life are deemed worthy of attention.

According to Keogh, her forthcoming work is "not about cleaning up" but about acknowledging forms of life thriving in conditions society often disregards. The Jack Galef Visual Arts Award thus supports artists who engage with complex environmental and social themes through innovative artistic practice.

The Guggenheim Museum’s new prize promises to spotlight groundbreaking visual artists whose work challenges viewers and expands contemporary art discourse. The biennial schedule ensures continued support for artists pushing creative boundaries in profound and meaningful ways.