Ordway Prize Winners Announced
100,000 USD Ordway Prize Winners Announced
Hamza Walker and Artur Zmijewski Receive
Honors from Creative Link for the Arts
“Working with artists is a reward in itself, and I feel privileged at being so generously honored for my passion. I wish I had a grand vision for the award, but as it stands, the bricks and mortar of my life are in severe need of tuckpointing,” said Hamza Walker.
“I was happy to be nominated for the Ordway Prize, but winning was quite unexpected. “My art is important to me, and now it has been recognized by others in a significant way and that pleases me immensely. The considerable amount of money that comes with this award will surely help to realize my future projects,” said Artur Zmijewski.
The Ordway Prize is named for the naturalist, philanthropist, and arts patron
Katherine Ordway. The prize acknowledges the contributions of a Curator/Arts Writer and an Artist whose work has had significant impact on the field of contemporary art, but who has yet to receive broad public recognition. Nominees for the Ordway Prize are midcareer talents between the ages of forty and sixty-five, with a developed body of work extending over a minimum of fifteen years.
Jennifer McSweeney, Director of Creative Link for the Arts, noted that “the award honors past achievements, but it is equally dedicated to future promise. Hamza Walker’s and Artur Zmijewski’s work investigates and reveals the possibilities of humanity and is dedicated to celebrating life with all its limitations and aspirations. Both use their immeasurable talents to expose the frailties and conundrums that challenge mankind’s psyche, all the while giving hope to the viewer via the enlightenment offered by their difficult and honest questions.”
Richard Flood, Chief Curator at the New Museum said, “It’s very easy to fall in love with the young and reward them for being young. It’s a different thing to reward contributors like Hamza and Artur who have quietly and steadfastly dedicated their lives to the continuity of creativity. The Ordway Prize is a way of saying thank you for holding down the fort and moving the conversation forward; thank you for changing the way we understand the world.”
The Ordway Prize is the only unrestricted international award of this caliber that recognizes a Curator/Arts Writer and is also one of the most generous awards given to a contemporary Artist. Past Ordway Prize recipients have included: Curator/Arts Writer Ralph Rugoff and Artist Doris Salcedo (2006); and Curator/Arts Writer James Elaine and Artist Cildo Meireles (2008).
ABOUT CREATIVE LINK FOR THE ARTS
Creative Link for the Arts is a privately funded nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating partnership in philanthropy and forging innovative relationships between art institutions, nonprofits, corporations, and philanthropists interested in supporting the arts and creating a cultural legacy.
ABOUT THE NEW MUSEUM
Founded in 1977, the New Museum is a leading destination for new art and new ideas. It is Manhattan’s only dedicated contemporary art museum and is respected internationally for the adventurousness and global scope of its curatorial program. For more information, visit newmuseum.org.
