SECA

Celebrating 50 Years of Supporting Bay Area Art and Artists

2008 SECA Art Award recipient Trevor Paglen (left) and SECA member Lauren Ford; photo: Drew Altizer Photography SECA members at studio visit with Jordan Kantor; photo: Alan Ratliff
2008 SECA Art Award recipient Trevor Paglen (left) and SECA member Lauren Ford; photo: Drew Altizer Photography SECA members at studio visit with Jordan Kantor; photo: Alan Ratliff

Founded in 1961, SECA (Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art) brings together art enthusiasts, collectors, curators, and arts professionals through a variety of events that strengthen members' knowledge of contemporary art. Throughout the year SECA organizes special events and exclusive visits to art galleries, private collections, and artist studios for its members as part of its ongoing support of contemporary art in our region. Recently, SECA spent an afternoon with SFMOMA's 2012 Bay Area Treasure Award Honoree, Jim Campbell, discussing his artist practice, and visited Stonescape for its annual picnic last summer.

The group works closely with SFMOMA curators to identify the best new art in the Bay Area and to present the highly respected biennial SECA Art Award and its associated exhibition at SFMOMA. Since 1967, the SECA Art Award has recognized more than 70 artists and given hundreds of finalists a platform to speak about their practice. To mark SECA's fiftieth anniversary in 2011, SFMOMA published a comprehensive book covering the full scope of the awards SECA has sponsored since the sixties.

2012 SECA Art Award

This summer SFMOMA received nominations for the 2012 SECA Art Award from a wide range of local arts professionals. SFMOMA Assistant Curators Jenny Gheith and Tanya Zimbardo selected 15 finalists for group studio visits in the fall. The 2012 award winners are Zarouhie Abdalian, Josh Faught, Jonn Herschend, and David Wilson.

The SECA Art Award cycle offers SECA members an exciting educational opportunity to learn firsthand about new directions in contemporary art and directly support talented Bay Area artists at a relatively early stage in their careers. SECA members are invited to nominate artists for consideration and actively participate in application reviews, group studio visits, and discussions led by the SECA Art Award curators.

Join SECA

Dues are $500 per year and are fully tax deductible. SECA requires an SFMOMA membership at the Supporting level ($250) or higher.

The fastest way to join or renew is online. You'll be asked to log in or create an account.

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For more information, contact the SECA coordinator at 415.357.4031 or seca@sfmoma.org.