The Vilcek Foundation awards the 2025 Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History to Francesca Du Brock, chief curator of the Anchorage Museum of Art in Anchorage, Alaska. She receives the $100,000 award for her holistic and comprehensive approach to exhibition curation and to public education and engagement with art through museum programming. 

The Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History

The Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History honors art historians and museum professionals in the United States whose work exemplifies best practices as curators and cultural stewards. The prize was first awarded in 2024 as an homage to Vilcek Foundation Cofounder, Vice Chair, and Secretary Marica Vilcek’s career in the arts, including her tenure at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for more than three decades; her enduring trusteeship with the Institute of Fine Arts at NYU; and her philanthropic leadership as the driving force behind the Vilcek Foundation’s collections, exhibitions, and arts initiatives.

A Curator for Our Time

“Art historians and museum professionals bear a profound responsibility: They are tasked with providing context and building connections that make art accessible to all audiences,” says Marica Vilcek. “Truly effective museum professionals not only integrate the past and present, they inspire and create opportunities for future development, scholarship, and engagement. Francesca’s programmatic achievements with the Anchorage Museum demonstrate a genuine talent for this work. It’s an honor to see her receive this award.” 

“Francesca Du Brock is redefining the role of a curator for our time,” says Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel. “Her philosophy is simple: that a curator should not only care for objects, but also for people and community. She excels in creating platforms to place and center voices, communities, and histories that have for far too long been ignored by museum institutions.” 

Curating Community: Art and Empowerment

Du Brock is passionate about providing meaningful support for artists, and the power of art to bring people together and inspire meaningful change. Her curatorial practice is grounded in social engagement, place-based storytelling, and environmental justice. Du Brock’s exhibitions—including How to Survive (2023); Black Lives in Alaska: Journey, Justice Joy (2021); Extra Tough: Women of the North (2020); and What Why How We Eat (2018)—focus on topics of care and climate, representation, Northern feminism, food culture, and immigration. 

Her integrated approach to her work is informed by her background as an artist and educator. Du Brock earned her MEd in Arts in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She holds an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and earned her BA in Art History at Bowdoin College. Prior to joining the Anchorage Museum, Du Brock was a teaching fellow at the Harvard Art Museums, and served as a studio and archives assistant for artists Diego Pérez, Gabriel Orozco, and Damián Ortega. 

The 2025 Vilcek Foundation Prizes

In 2025, the Vilcek Foundation awards the largest quantity and sum of prizes it has bestowed in a single year, totaling $950,000 in awards. The Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History is awarded alongside the Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Visual Art, Curatorial Work, and Biomedical Science, and the Vilcek Prize for Excellence.