Keisha Scarville, a photographer known for her work about people in diaspora and identities in flux, is the 2026 winner of the Brooklyn Museum’s Uovo Prize, the institution announced on Thursday.
Through the award, Scarville will take home $25,000 and receive a Brooklyn Museum commission. Her work will also be featured on the facade of the art storage space operated by Uovo in Bushwick.
“Receiving the 2026 UOVO prize deeply affirms my creative journey,” Scarville told ARTnews in an email. “I have profound respect for all the previous recipients, so joining such an inspiring group of artists is an immense honor. Because I grew up in Brooklyn, this award feels especially meaningful, connecting my roots to my evolving practice. I believe it will open new possibilities, encouraging material exploration, collaboration, and experimentation. It also inspires me to deepen my connection within the community that shaped me.”
Her presentation for the Brooklyn Museum, due to go on view in the institution’s plaza on May 8, will be titled “Where Salt Meets Black Water.” Curated by Pauline Vermare, the show will see the plaza covered in vinyl reproductions of Scarville’s photographs from her “Mama’s Clothes” series, for which Scarville donned the patterned textiles and garments belonging to her late mother Alma. The title of the Brooklyn Museum presentation is a reference the dark creeks found in Guyana, the nation from which Scarville’s parents hailed.
Anne Pasternak, the museum’s director, said in a statement that the presentation will act as “a tribute to the Caribbean community whose creativity, traditions, and histories have profoundly shaped Brooklyn’s cultural life.”
The Brooklyn Museum show—which also features a reproduction of a photo belonging to Scarville’s mother that the artist did not shoot—comes as she prepares to publish a photo book with MACK.
Now in its sixth edition, the Brooklyn Musuem’s Uovo Prize has accrued a reputation for helping elevate artists who go on to achieve greater success. Past winners include John Edmons, Oscar yi Hou, Melissa Joseph, Baseera Khan, and Suneil Sanzgiri.
