The Guggenheim Foundation has named Brooklyn-based American Artist, textile artist and educator Sonya Clark, and interdisciplinary artist Allison Janae Hamilton as members of their 101st class of Guggenheim Fellows, along with 27 other fine artists. The full cohort includes 223 artists, scholars, and scientists across 55 disciplines. Each Fellow will receive a financial stipend that they can put towards pursuing their work in “the freest possible conditions,” according to a press statement.
“Our new class of Guggenheim Fellows is representative of the world’s best thinkers, innovators, and creators in art, science, and scholarship,” said Guggenheim Foundation president and poet Edward Hirsch in a press statement. “As the Foundation enters its second century and looks to the future, I feel confident that this new class of 223 individuals will do bold and inspiring work, undaunted by the challenges ahead. We are honored to support their visionary contributions.”
This year’s class was selected in a rigorous, peer-reviewed process that featured 5,000 applicants. They were chosen based on both their past accomplishments and their promise. The 2026 Fellows hail from 10 different countries, and nearly one third are not affiliated with a university. At a moment when sharp funding cuts are threatening creativity and artistic expression, applications in the creative arts and humanities are up by 50% from last year.
The Guggenheim Foundation has supported visual artists, filmmakers, writers, poets, architects, musicians, choreographers, and other creative practitioners since its founding in 1925. Previous artists who have been named as Guggenheim Fellows include painter and sculptor Louise Bourgeois, painter Milton Avery, and photographer Ansel Adams.
The full list of 2026 Guggenheim Fellows in the fine arts is below:
- John Ahearn
- American Artist
- Fia Backström
- Elena Bajo
- Amy Bessone
- Raymond Boisjoly
- Sonya Clark
- Kota Ezawa
- Jude Griebel
- Iva Gueorguieva
- Karl Haendel
- Fariba Hajamadi
- Allison Janae Hamilton
- LaMont Hamilton
- James Hoff
- Julia M. Kunin
- Monica Majoli
- Aspen Mays
- Leeza Meksin
- John Miller
- Marina Rosenfeld
- Michael Ross
- Francis Ruyter
- Kate Shepherd
- Claire Sherman
- Kenneth Tam
- Alina Tenser
- Juana Valdes
- Jennifer West
- Anne Wilson
