The New York–based Anonymous Was A Woman has announced the 2026 recipients of its annual awards, which come with $50,000 each for this year’s 15 winners.
The 2026 cohort includes Kay WalkingStick, a painter whose work examines the American landscape from the point of view of Indigenous people, and Trisha Baga, whose video installations look at the relationship between the physical and digital worlds. Born in 1935, WalkingStick is this year’s oldest winner, while Baga, who was born in 1985, is the youngest recipient.
Other winners include Beatriz Cortez, whose sculptures engage speculative futures and multiple temporalities; Elisabeth Kley, who is known for her ceramic installations that feature geometric and plant motifs; and Candace Hill-Montgomery, whose experimental practice since the 1970s has synthesized “her experience of post-war segregation in New York and the revolutionary activism of the time,” per a release, and was recently showcased in MoMA PS1’s Greater New York quinquennial.
“At a time when artists face mounting uncertainty within a fast-changing world, the need for direct, unrestricted support is as urgent as ever,” AWAW founder Susan Unterberg said in a statement. “The artists that we recognize this year are extraordinary. The range, ambition, and originality of their work is a reminder of just how vital artists are for our world.”
In addition to the awards, the organization also announced the launch of the second edition of its Artists Speaks Survey, in partnership with SMU DataArts and journalist Charlotte Burns. The 2024 edition collected responses from some 1,200 artists, and the new edition seeks to “examine what has changed—and what has not—while addressing emerging challenges including artificial intelligence, changes in policy and funding, and the conditions artists need to sustain their practices.” The survey is open to women, trans, and nonbinary artists of any age; responses will be accepted until January 3.
Since 1996, the AWAW awards have disbursed over $10 million in funds to more than 400 artists. Last year’s winners included Candida Alvarez, Park McArthur, and Lola Flash. The awards are meant to support the careers of mid-career women, trans, and nonbinary artists “at a significant junction in their lives or careers to continue to grow and pursue their work,” according to a release.
“Receiving this award was incredible news. I was literally calculating the astronomical cost of hard drives to back up my digital archive when I received the call,” Baga told ARTnews in an email. “As you might know, hard drive prices these days are insane because of AI data centers driving up the demand, and I am a video artist with about 80 terabytes of very important, very tenuously stored video files I’ve gathered and metabolized over the past 20 years.”
Textile artist Elaine Reichek echoed Baga’s sentiment about the rising cost of making art, saying, “The amount is significant enough to make a real difference in my day-to-day practice. I’m truly grateful to be able to afford the cost of my materials, which have risen due to tariffs and supply chain difficulties. A burden has been lifted!”
Baga added that she will also use the funds to continue focusing on her “recently revived 3D video installation practice, providing an income so I can focus on the several institutional shows I have scheduled this year.”
“This award comes at the end of a long year, a year of big works with very limited resources,” choreographer nora chipaumire told ARTnews. “Receiving this individual award validates my life in the arts. It means recognition of an artist who wants to continue to shift frames and push over the edges. This award says to me: people matter. Massive joy and gratitude.”
The full list of winners follows below.
Laylah Ali (b. 1968, Buffalo, New York; based in western Massachusetts)
Trisha Baga (b. 1985, Venice, Florida; based in Queens, New York)
nora chipaumire (b. 1965, Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe; based in New York)
Beatriz Cortez (b. 1970, San Salvador, El Salvador; based in Los Angeles and Davis, California)
Ellie Ga (b. 1976, New York; based in Lisbon)
Andrea Geyer (b. 1971, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany; based in New York)
Candace Hill-Montgomery (b. 1945, New York; based in Bridgehampton, New York)
Elisabeth Kley (b. 1956, New York; based in New York)
Laura Parnes (b. 1968, Buffalo, New York; based in New York)
Marsha Pels (b. 1950, Brooklyn; based in Brooklyn)
Elaine Reichek (b. 1943, Brooklyn; based in New York)
Katherine Sherwood (b. 1952, New Orleans, LA; based in San Francisco Bay Area)
Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos, b. 1976, Springfield, Oregon; based in Portland, Oregon)
Rea Tajiri (b. 1958, Chicago, IL; based in Philadelphia)
Kay WalkingStick (b. 1935, Syracuse, NY; based in Pennsylvania)