Mission

The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States, and fosters appreciation of the arts and sciences.

We are committed to diversity and inclusive exchange. Through our prizes, grantmaking, and art collection, we celebrate immigrant artists and scientists, and leaders who advocate for immigrant rights.

Learn more about what we do

Prizes

2025 Vilcek Foundation Prizewinners

The Vilcek Foundation announces its largest-ever cohort of prizewinners with the 2025 Vilcek Foundation Prizes. This year, the foundation honors 14 prizewinners with a total of $950,000 in awards in biomedical science, visual arts, and curatorial work.

Meet the prizewinners
A portrait of Henry Louis Gates Jr. with a conference room out of focus in the background.

Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History

Inspired by Marica Vilcek’s career in art history and her legacy in the arts, the Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History honors art historians, curators, and fine arts professionals whose work has a profound impact on their institutions, in their scholarship, and on arts and culture in general.

Read about the art history prize
Francesca standing outside of the entrance to the Anchorage Museum in front of the signage.

Art

Abstract Sea Form

1969 Tadashi Sato
A white orb floats above a spotted orange and black plant-like figure against a blue background.

Trinity

1945/1988 Isamu Noguchi
A black metal sculpture in a gallery space.

Derricks

c. 1939 Ralston Crawford

Hot Lava #1

1975 Tadashi Sato
A painting depicting lava come from a volcano with a blue sky, and streaks of red and black.

IW-2201

2022 Il Lee
A black background covered with white squiggly shapes that are denser at the top of the canvas and disperse at the bottom.

Tropic Fantasy

1935-36 Marsden Hartley
A painting of fish in white, pink, reds, and blues.

Lazarus

2019 Nari Ward
Shoelaces installed on a wall forming the words tired, poor, refuse, huddled, yearning, homeless, wretched, tempest-tost

SBL-1601

2016 Il Lee
Blue pen sketched on paper to form a circular shape that gradually becomes lighter in color as the pen strokes spread out from the middle.

Events

Exhibition

Il Lee—Energy and Flow: Abstraction of Movements

May 29, 2025 - April 29, 2026 21 E 70th St
New York, NY 10021

Il Lee is widely acclaimed for his large-scale abstract compositions, created through the intricate use of numerous ballpoint pens on paper and canvas.

Learn about the exhibition
Overlapping white lines on a dark background. The lines form an abstracted cluster along the top of the artwork, densely packed in the middle and loosening toward the edges, creating a sense of motion and intensity.

News

October 21, 2025

Celebrated director Shih-Ching Tsou debuts Left-Handed Girl at HIFF45

Selected as Taiwan’s Oscar submission, Tsou’s film blends personal history and cultural reflection through the lives of a mother and her daughters in modern Taiwan.
A headshot of Shih-Ching Tsou in a sleeveless white cowl-neck sweater.
June 25, 2025

Microbes and Manga: Illustrating Harris Wang’s Research

Our sixth manga installment highlights a synthetic biologist superhero!
A black and white comic illustration shows a smiling man in a superhero suit and cape flying through space, surrounded by swirling DNA strands and planets.
May 27, 2025

Il Lee—Energy and Flow: Abstraction of Movements

The Vilcek Foundation presents "Il Lee—Energy and Flow: Abstraction of Movements," a solo exhibition of Korean artist Il Lee.
A black background covered with white squiggly shapes that are denser at the top of the canvas and disperse at the bottom.
February 3, 2025

Vilcek Prize for Excellence Awarded to Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. receives the $100,000 award in recognition of his contributions to history, culture, and society.
A portrait of Henry Louis Gates Jr. with a conference room out of focus in the background.