Top 10 Biggest & Most Important Art Awards & Prizes

Art Awards Resources

• CARNEGIE ART AWARD - was a Swedish art award event established in 1998 by Swedish financial group Carnegie Investment Bank to recognize and promote Nordic contemporary painting and artists.
• Guggenheim International Award - was established in 1956 as 'both a recognition of outstanding achievements in the visual arts and an important manifestation of international goodwill'. A shortlist of artists and works were selected by juries to represent different countries, with one overall winner selected by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and awarded a monetary prize of US$10,000, then the largest art prize awarded in the US. Prizes were given every two years from 1956 to 1964 (omitting 1962). The award was discontinued after 1964 in order to divert funds to acquiring further artwork for the Foundation.
• List of European art awards - Wikipedia.
• Lists of art awards - "Lists of art awards cover some of the notable awards presented for art, some for a specific form or genre, some for artists from one country or region, some more general. The lists are organized by the region of the body issuing the award, although the awards may not be restricted to artists in that region." Wikipedia.
• The Largest Cash Art Prizes Worldwide - W"As the number of art prizes has grown over the years, the size of their cash purses has increased as well. In early 2019, the Japanese financial company Nomura Holdings, Inc. created the world’s biggest art prizes - an award for one artist that comes with a $1 million check. Surveying awards around the world, ARTnews has rounded up 21 prizes with purses valued at $100,000 or more.

Top 10 Biggest Art Awards & Prizes

• AMERICAN ART AWARDS - since 1965. "Honoring the Creative Force in Art." 250-member honor society whose goal is to 'foster, assist, and sustain excellence' in American literature, music, and art.
• ART PRIZE - since 2009. An international art competition held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A. ArtPrize is unusual both for the large size of the top prize (US$200,000, combined with other prizes cumulatively amounting to $560,000), as well as for the method of judging entries. Unlike traditionally juried competitions, ArtPrize contestants are juried by the public. Artists and venues (exhibition locations) negotiate and coordinate during a process called Connections. During the event, installations are voted upon by the public using modern networking technology.
• BUCKSBAUM AWARD - established in 2000 by the Bucksbaum Family Foundation and the Whitney Museum of American Art. It is awarded biannually "to honor an artist, living and working in the United States, whose work demonstrates a singular combination of talent and imagination." The $100,000 prize is the world's largest award given to an individual visual artist.
• Future Generation Art Prize - "US$100,000 award open to all artists around the world aged 35 or younger." Established by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in 2009 is a worldwide contemporary art prize to discover, recognize and give long-term support to a future generation of artists.
• Hugo Boss Prize - awarded every other year to an artist (or group of artists) working in any medium, anywhere in the world. Since its establishment in 1996, it has distinguished itself from other art awards (e.g. the Turner Prize) because it has no restrictions on nationality or age. The prize is administered by the Guggenheim Museum and sponsored by the Hugo Boss clothing company, which since 1995 has been sponsoring various exhibitions and activities at the museum. It carries with it a cash award of US$100,000 and a tetrahedral trophy.
• MARCEL DUCHAMP PRIZE - "Created in 2000 by Gilles Fuchs, Founder and president of ADIAF, the Marcel Duchamp Prize aims to highlight the creative abundance of the French scene at the beginning of the 21st century and to support artists in their international career. At this time, 85 artists, laureates and nominees, have been honoured by the Marcel Duchamp Prize, which over the years and exhibitions has become a true ambassador of the French scene. They represent unique insight into the vitality of French creation and offer an open vision of contemporary art in France."
• MaxMara Art Prize for Women in collaboration with the Whitechapel - since 2005. Biannual Art Prize for British-based female artists organized by the MaxMara fashion house and The Whitechapel Gallery in London. The Prize includes a 6 month residency in Italy to realize an Art project which may be exhibited at The Whitechapel Gallery in London and it will be acquired by the Collezione Maramotti (Italy).
• Nomura Art Award - "The Tokyo-based financial company Nomura Holdings, Inc. launched a $1 million award in 2019, with the plan that the prize will be given to one artist each year. The Nomura Art Award recognizes “an artist who has created a body of work of major cultural significance,” according to a statement to the press. The first winner will be named in September 2019. In advance of naming the inaugural recipient, the company will also give out two $100,000 awards for emerging artists."
• Praemium Imperiale - (Lit. "World Culture Prize in Memory of His Imperial Highness Prince Takamatsu"). The Praemium Imperiale is a global arts prize awarded annually by the Japan Art Association. Since its inauguration in 1988, it has become a mark of the arts. Six nomination committees, each chaired by an International Advisor, propose candidates in five fields: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Music and Theatre/Film. This Site gives you a detailed introduction to Praemium Imperiale and its laureates in words, image, audio and video.
• Roswitha Haftmann Prize - since 2001. "The aim of the Foundation is to recognise outstanding achievements in the visual arts. To this end, the Foundation regularly awards the valuable Roswitha Haftmann Prize to a living artist. Prizewinners are selected solely on the basis of the artistic significance of their work, without regard to their personal circumstances (nationality, age, gender, etc.)." Prizewinners are selected solely on the basis of the artistic significance of their work, without regard to their personal circumstances (nationality, age, gender, etc.). The Prize worth CHF 150,000 (US$157,000) is awarded in Zurich, as far as possible during a public event in the Kunsthaus.
• TURNER PRIZE - "The prize was first awarded in 1984. It was founded by a group called the Patrons of New Art under the directorship of Alan Bowness. They formed to encourage wider interest in contemporary art and assist Tate in acquiring new works. They felt that Britain should have its own award for visual arts, an equivalent to the Booker Prize." The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). Awarding the prize is organised by the Tate gallery and usually staged at Tate Britain, though in recent years the award ceremony has sometimes been held in other UK cities. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the UK's most publicised art award. The award represents all media.
• WSJ Innovation Awards - "Launched in 2011, WSJ. Magazine’s Innovator Awards recognizes groundbreaking talents from a range of disciplines, including fashion, art, entertainment, architecture, design, technology, the performing arts, philanthropy, food, literature and more. As an annual event, it has blossomed into one of the Wall Street Journal’s signature franchises; the combination of special-edition print issue, red-carpet gala and multiple digital extensions reaches WSJ.’s largest global audience every year."