SECA Art Award
Overview
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| 2006 SECA Art Award recipients Leslie Shows (left) and Mitzi Pederson (right); photo: Drew Altizer Photography |
The purpose of the SECA Art Award is to provide recognition to artists of exceptional promise who are working independently and at a high level of artistic maturity, but whose work has not been accorded substantial recognition.
Since 1967 SECA has honored 62 Bay Area artists with the biennial award, which includes an exhibition at SFMOMA, an accompanying catalogue, and a cash prize. Recipients are chosen during a 10-month process involving the local arts community, artists, SECA members, and museum staff. The final selection is made by SFMOMA’s curators of painting and sculpture.
Funding for the exhibition and catalogue is provided by SECA and SFMOMA; the cash prize accompanying the award was initiated in 1984 through the Robert Huston Fund, which is named in memory of a former SECA member and dedicated supporter of young Bay Area artists.
The 2008 SECA Art Award recipients are: Tauba Auerbach, Desirée Holman, Jordan Kantor, and Trevor Paglen. Recent SECA Art Award recipients include Sarah Cain, Kota Ezawa, Amy Franceschini, Mitzi Pederson, and Leslie Shows (2006); Rosana Castrillo Díaz, Simon Evans, Shaun O'Dell, and Josephine Taylor (2004); and John Bankston, Andrea Higgins, Chris Johanson, and Will Rogan (2002).
Selection Process
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| SECA Art Award Opening, 2006; photo: Drew Altizer Photography |
The SECA Art Award program is based on recommendations made by members of the local arts community, a review of digital images and studio visits by SFMOMA curators and SECA members, and final selection by SFMOMA curators. While the ultimate purpose of the program is the selection of SECA Art Award winners, the process offers opportunities for artists to show their work to a variety of individuals who are active in the local arts community.
Recommendations
Artists enter the SECA Art Award selection process as a result of a recommendation from a Bay Area arts professional or SECA member. SECA solicits recommendations from numerous arts professionals, including museum curators, directors and curators at Bay Area galleries and nonprofit spaces, deans and instructors at local art schools, and noted Bay Area artists.
Artist Eligibility
To be considered for the SECA Art Award, artists must be out of school and working independently within the genres of sculpture, painting, installation, or works on paper (though performance, video, film, and sound works may be considered in instances where they directly relate to these other media).
As studio visits are essential to the search process, artists must reside in the Bay Area and be open to meeting in-person with curators and SECA members.
SECA members and employees of SFMOMA are not eligible for consideration.
For more information contact Heather Holt, SECA coordinator, at 415.357.4031 or seca@sfmoma.org.
