{"id":1946766,"date":"2026-05-19T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1946766"},"modified":"2026-05-19T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T11:00:00","slug":"edgar-calel-wins-75000-sam-gilliam-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1946766","title":{"rendered":"Edgar Calel Wins $75,000 Sam Gilliam Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tThe Dia Art Foundation and the Sam Gilliam Foundation have named Edgar Calel as the winner of the 2026 Sam Gilliam Award, which comes with $75,000 as well as a public program at a Dia-managed site in the fall.<\/p>\n

\n\tCalel is an artist and poet of Maya Kaqchikel heritage who is based in Chi Xot (San Juan Comalapa), Guatemala, where he was born in 1987. Working across painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, and performance, Calel draws on the \u201cancestral knowledge systems, ritual practices, and the cultural traditions of Guatemala\u2019s midwestern highlands,\u201d per a release. In addition to a memorable solo exhibition at SculptureCenter in New York, his work has been included in the 2023 Gwangju Biennale, the 2023 Liverpool Biennial, the 2023 Bienal de S\u00e3o Paulo, and the 2022 Carnegie International.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe release noted that Calel was given the Gilliam Award for \u201chis outstanding demonstration of a unique ability to work effectively and sensitively, often creating enveloping environments that incorporate a range of media while advocating for community and shared experiences.\u201d In a statement, he said, \u201cI thank my ancestors for giving me life and allowing me to use their wisdom to create art. I am very happy to receive this recognition, and it will help me continue exploring the world and its mysteries. Janila Matyox k\u2019aslem\u2014thank you so much, life, for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCalel is best-known for creating large-scale installations that often reflect the Mayan cosmovision. His work also often question notions of ownership versus stewardship as they relate to museum collections, as he did with his 2021 work The Echo of an Ancient Form of Knowledge (Ru k\u2019ox k\u2019ob\u2019el jun ojer etemab\u2019el)<\/em> did. For that piece, Tate in London took on the role of custodian of the work for 13 years, after which both Tate and Calel could decide to renew the agreement. \u201cI want to invite the public to see what I see daily in my community, and to see how all the knowledge has been handed down by my ancestors,\u201d Calel told Art in America<\/em> in 2023, when he was featured as a \u201cNew Talent\u201d artist. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u00c9dgar Calel,\u00a0B\u2019alab\u2019\u00e4j\u00a0(Jaguar Stone)<\/em>, 2023, installation view,\u00a0at\u00a0SculptureCenter, New York, 2023. \u00a0<\/span>Photo Charles Benton\/Courtesy the artist and\u00a0Proyectos\u00a0Ultravioleta, Guatemala City; Commissioned by\u00a0SculptureCenter, New York and Hartwig Art Foundation, Amsterdam<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tCalel was selected by six-person jury that included Dia curators and department co-heads Jordan Carter and Matilde Guidelli-Guidi;Annie Gawlak, president of the Gilliam Foundation and the artist\u2019s widow; Elvira Dyangani Ose, artistic director of the upcoming 2nd Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial; Shanay Jhaveri, head of visual arts at Barbican in London; and Clara Kim, chief curator and director of curatorial affairs of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a statement, Gawlak said Calel\u2019s \u201cexploration of the environment and Indigenous histories through experimentation in material and space resonates with Sam\u2019s approach to art making as a means to confront urgent social and political issues. Edgar\u2019s selection as this year\u2019s awardee extends Sam\u2019s legacy and demonstrates the Sam Gilliam Foundation\u2019s continued commitment to supporting and fostering the next generations of artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEstablished in 2023 by the late artist\u2019s foundation and administered by Dia, the Sam Gilliam Award is given each year to \u201can artist working anywhere in the world who has made a significant contribution in any medium and for whom the award would be transformative,\u201d according to a release. The award is endowed through 2033, and the award\u2019s previous winners are Ibrahim Mahama (2024) and Sheela Gowda (2025).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEdgar Calel has a remarkable ability to create works that operate at once intimately and expansively, bringing together material, ritual, and community to form deeply resonant environments,\u201d Dia director Jessica Morgan said in a statement. \u201cHis forthcoming public program at Dia will offer an exciting opportunity to encounter these ideas in dialogue with the institution\u2019s program, and we are proud to support his practice through the Sam Gilliam Award.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_7413-2.jpg?w=1024″] The Dia Art Foundation and the Sam Gilliam Foundation have named Edgar Calel as the winner of the 2026 Sam Gilliam Award, which comes with $75,000 as well as a public program at a Dia-managed site in the fall. Calel is an artist and poet of Maya Kaqchikel heritage who is based […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-1946766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1946766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1946766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1946766\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1946766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1946766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1946766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}