New York–based artist Sable Elyse Smith has been named the 2026 recipient of the Suzanne Deal Booth / Flag Art Foundation Prize, as announced today by the Contemporary Austin, which administers the award. As the prize’s fifth winner, Smith will receive a $200,000 grant, a traveling solo exhibition to be shown at both the Contemporary Austin and the FLAG Art Foundation in New York in 2026, and an accompanying publication.
Born in 1986 in Los Angeles, Smith creates work—spanning video, sculpture, photography, text, and works on paper—that explores mechanisms of control and the institutional violence prevalent in American society and politics. Her work has been the subject of several solo exhibitions, including a recent show at Regen Projects in Los Angeles. This summer, Smith will take part in the performance series “Studio Sound” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
“Sable is a prescient voice among her generation with a dynamic artistic background and does not shy away from asking challenging questions. I’m eager to see how she will continue expanding the impact and possibilities of an artistic practice,” said prize founder Suzanne Deal Booth, a collector and trustee of the Contemporary Austin. “It’s an honor to play a role in celebrating artists who are at an inflection point in their careers and to support them with the platform, tools, and resources needed to access different communities and garner well-deserved exposure.”
The winner of the biannual prize is selected by a rotating jury comprising art historians and curators representing a wide range of prestigious institutions such as Harvard University and the Tate Modern. Previous winners include Lubaina Himid, Nicole Eisenman, Tarek Atoui, and Rodney McMillian.
