Eight US Art Writers Awarded $50,000 Each in 2026 Rabkin Prize

On 10 September 2026, the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation announced the winners of its 2026 Rabkin Prize. This annual award recognises eight art writers from the United States, each of whom receives a $50,000 cash prize for their recent contributions to art writing.

This year’s group of recipients reflects a range of backgrounds, including academics, podcasters, journalists, and curators. Among the honourees is Julia Halperin, contributor to The Art Newspaper and former editor, who is also the co-founder of the Burns Halperin Report. Other winners include Damien Davis, an artist and writer based in New Jersey; Melaine Ferdinand-King, inaugural curator of the African American Museum of Rhode Island; Tyler Green, host of The Modern Art Notes Podcast; Alicia Inez Guzmán, a writer from the Southwest; Sarah Lewis, a Harvard University professor and founder of the Vision & Justice initiative; Jan Tumlir, founding editor of the contemporary art journal X-TRA in Los Angeles; and Kaelen Wilson-Goldie, an independent journalist and critic.

Many of the 2026 awardees address themes such as politics, power, race, equity, and representation in their work, both within the art world and in broader contexts. Sarah Lewis, for example, emphasised the importance of cultural work in societal transformation, stating that laws alone are not enough to overcome societal blind spots.

Nominees for the Rabkin Prize are selected through a nomination process, and an independent jury reviews recent work samples and resumes to choose the winners. The 2026 jury consisted of Irene Borger, founding director of the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts; Jaime DeSimone, chief curator at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Maine; and Legacy Russell, director and chief curator of The Kitchen in New York.

A series of interviews with the 2026 Rabkin Prize winners will be available online starting 16 September, providing further insight into their perspectives and work.

The Rabkin Prize continues to highlight and support significant voices in art writing, offering substantial financial recognition and encouraging critical engagement with contemporary social and cultural issues.