Bernardo sitting in a dark room and examining negatives on a light box.

2025 Vilcek Foundation Prizes

Meet Our New Prizewinners
Marianne smiles as she examines a test tube sample in her lab.

2025 Vilcek Foundation Prizes

Meet Our New Prizewinners
Francesca Du Brock standing in nature in Alaska with the fall colors behind her.

2025 Vilcek Foundation Prizes

Meet Our New Prizewinners

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

2026 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise

In 2026, the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise will be awarded in Biomedical Science, Fashion & Design, and Fashion & Culture. The deadline to submit an application is Monday, June 9, 2025, 5:00 pm ET.

Learn more and apply
The side profile of a bearded man wearing denim as he uses a sewing machine to construct a leather belt.

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 Elham in a pink blazer in front of the Columbia University engineering building.

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.

Vilcek Prize for Excellence

The Vilcek Prize for Excellence is awarded to intellectual and cultural leaders who have had a profound impact on our society and contributed a lasting legacy in the fields of arts, sciences, and humanities.

Learn more about the Excellence prize
A portrait of Henry Louis Gates Jr. with a conference room out of focus in the background.

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

Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery

July 13, 2023 - June 4, 2024 21 E 70th St
New York, NY 10021

Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery, curated by the Pueblo Pottery Collective, features works from the Vilcek Collection and from the Indian Arts Research Center at the School for Advanced Research.

Learn about the exhibition
Pueblo pottery placed in cases and on tables in a gallery.

News

February 3, 2025

Vilcek Foundation Awards $950,000 in Prizes to Immigrants and Scholars

Meet the recipients of the 2025 Vilcek Foundation Prizes.
Diagonal splices with portraits of the 14 prizewinners.
February 3, 2025

Guadalupe Maravilla: Healing Trauma Through Art

Learn about how Vilcek Prize winner Guadalupe Maravilla uses the power of art to foster healing within immigrant communities.
Guadalupe stands on a construction site with a neon yellow helmet tucked under his arm.
February 3, 2025

Maayan Levy: Pioneering Metabotherapy

Maayan Levy explores metabolite research across conditions such as cancer, inflammatory diseases, and post-acute infection syndromes, while championing better conditions for young mothers in academia.
Maayan smiling with her arms folded and leaning against the door frame in her office.
February 3, 2025

Liberation and Belonging: The Artistic Vision of Jeffrey Meris

Haitian-Bahamian artist Jeffrey Meris explores themes of migration, liberation, and healing through his innovative sculptures and installations.
A closeup of Jeffrey in front of one of his artworks - a collage with shades of red and black.
February 3, 2025

Henry Louis Gates Jr.: History as a Key to Our Future

Henry Louis Gates Jr. receives the Vilcek Prize for Excellence for his leadership as a scholar of African American literature, history, and culture.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. sitting with his hands clasped in front of a red screen.
February 3, 2025

Vilcek Foundation Awards $100,000 Art History Prize to Francesca Du Brock

The Vilcek Foundation awards $100,000 to Francesca Du Brock, chief curator of the Anchorage Museum, with the 2025 Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History.
Francesca standing outside of the entrance to the Anchorage Museum in front of the signage.
December 3, 2024

New Grant Funds Available: Apply for a Grant from the Vilcek Foundation

The Vilcek Foundation announces $200,000 in new grant funding for nonprofit organizations in 2025.
Karan Soni and Roshan Sethi in front of the step and repeat wearing leis.
December 2, 2024

Grounded in Clay: Now on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Developed in partnership with the School for Advanced Research (SAR), the community-curated exhibition includes more than 100 works of historic and contemporary Pueblo pottery.
A Zuni pot centered with other pottery works displayed behind it.