American visual artist Senga Nengudi has been awarded The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation’s Centennial Award.
The one-time award, presented in honor of American painter and graphic artist Robert Rauschenberg’s 100th birthday, also recognized leading talents in performance, writing, and photography. These were awarded to performance artist David Thomson, writer Patricia Spears Jones, and the photography duo Chandra McCormick and Keith Calhoun. Each recipient will receive a prize of $100,000 for unrestricted use.
“It is a privilege for the Foundation to recognize the work of these individuals on the occasion of the artist’s centennial year,” said the foundation’s executive director, Courtney J. Martin, in a press statement. “Each of them has made an extraordinary impact in his or her respective field, exemplifying Rauschenberg’s collaborative spirit, social consciousness, and commitment to experimentation.”
Nengudi was recognized by juror Nyeema Morgan for her standing as a “lodestar for generations of artists who have centered questions that bridge social, political, and philosophical concerns.” In a practice that spans sculpture, performance, and installations, Nengudi explores identity and ephemerality through discarded materials such as paper, stockings, and masking tape. The artist, who is represented by Sprüth Magers, has held solo shows at the Henry Moore Institute, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the ICA Miami. Her work has been included in international group presentations, such as the Venice Biennale 2017 and the Carnegie International in 2007.
Other recipients of the award included Caribbean-American interdisciplinary artist David Thomson, recognized for his performance work integrating writing, images, performance, and installation. His work has been shown at The Kitchen in New York, The Bronx Museum, and the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain. American artists Chandra McCormick and Keith Calhoun also received the award for their photography work that documents and provides visual testimony to Black life and experience in the American South. Cultural activist Patricia Jones Spears, a Poet Laureate and author of several publications, was recognized for her writing.
The winners have all attended, or were invited to participate in, the foundation’s residency program on Captiva Island in Florida. Inspired by Rauschenberg's early years at Black Mountain College, the residency was established in 2012 and will end in August as a result of the foundation’s decision to sell the compound.
