Silvi Rouskin

“The pandemic has been an extreme cause for speed and urgency”

Meet the Prizewinner

Nanfu Wang

"The camera gave me courage and justification”

Meet the Prizewinner

Mission

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

We honor foreign-born artists, scientists, and advocates of immigrant rights living and working in the United States for their outstanding contributions to society.

Prizes

Vilcek Foundation Prizes

Awarded annually, the Vilcek Foundation Prizes honor immigrants for extraordinary contributions in the arts and sciences.

LEARN ABOUT THE PRIZES

2021 Vilcek Foundation Prizewinners

Nine prizes totaling $600,000 are being awarded to immigrant leaders in biomedical science and filmmaking, including Ruth Lehmann and Rodrigo Prieto; Andrew Yang is awarded the Vilcek Prize for Excellence in Public Service.

MEET THE 2021 PRIZEWINNERS

Art

Still Life with Dial

1922 Stuart Davis
A cubist still life featuring a cup and saucer, stack of magazines, and jug on an upturned table top.

Acoma Four Color Polychrome Olla

c. 1900 Unknown Artist
An Acoma pot decorated in white, red, orange, and black geometric shapes.

Mont Sainte-Victoire

c. 1927 Marsden Hartley
Painting of a mountain ridge in navy and pink surrounded by a landscape of warm pinks, reds, and green.

Black Package

1965 Christo
A package wrapped in black fabric with twine and rope and attached to a white block of wood and enclosed in plexiglass.

Bomber

1944 Ralston Crawford
Painting of a plane crash with debris from the aircraft, buildings, and landscape, including a bicycle.

Mezcala Temple with Four Columns and Recumbent Figure

200 BCE–500 CE Unknown Artist
Sculpture of a four column temple with a reclining figure on the top and a staircase carved into the base.

Penumbra

2007-2010 Neri Oxman
Translucent yellow abstract sculpture with multiple folds.

Women and Trees

1911 Max Weber
A group of pale, nude women scattered among the trees in a forest.

Events

Virtual Exhibition

The Synchromists

April 24, 2020 - April 24, 2021

In 1912, Morgan Russell and Stanton Macdonald-Wright founded Synchromism, meaning “with color,” a movement in which color becomes an expressive and formal element, and held their first exhibitions in Munich and Paris in 1913.

Read more

News

February 22, 2021

Ruth Lehmann: “There’s always another question… there’s always more to find out”

Molecular and cellular biologist Ruth Lehmann receives the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science for her research and leadership in the field.
February 15, 2021

Andrew Yang: “I think part of our immigrant story is just hard work”

Once an underdog himself, Andrew Yang is now a champion for those underserved and overlooked in American society.
February 8, 2021

Silvi Rouskin: “The pandemic has been an extreme cause for speed and urgency”

Molecular biologist Silvi Rouskin studies the structure of RNA viruses like HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2, seeking weaknesses that could lead to treatments and interventions.
February 1, 2021

Nanfu Wang: “The camera gave me courage and justification”

Documentary filmmaker Nanfu Wang tells stories of political control, activists, and outliers from an unflinching and raw first-person perspective.