Guggenheim Fellows 2026: Artists Honored

By Darren Smith, Arts Reporter

April 14, 2026

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation announced the 101st class of Guggenheim Fellows on April 14, 2026, naming 223 distinguished individuals across 55 disciplines. Selected from nearly 5,000 applicants, the fellows receive unrestricted grants to pursue creative and scholarly work under the freest possible conditions. In the visual arts, this year’s cohort highlights a vibrant mix of established and emerging talent whose practices span sculpture, video, photography, installation, and fiber art.

The fellowship, established in 1925 in memory of John Simon Guggenheim’s son, has long supported transformative contributions to culture. Past recipients include more than 125 Nobel laureates and countless influential artists. This year’s visual arts winners reflect ongoing conversations around identity, materiality, technology, and social justice in contemporary practice.

Kenneth Tam, an assistant professor of art at Rice University in Houston, Texas, earns recognition for his interdisciplinary work in video, sculpture, installation, performance, and photography. Tam’s projects often explore masculinity, community, and ritual through intimate, sometimes participatory scenarios. His inclusion in the upcoming “Greater New York” exhibition at MoMA PS1 underscores his rising prominence in the field. The fellowship will support continued exploration of these themes in new projects.

Alina Tenser, a Ukrainian-born sculptor and faculty member at Lehigh University based in Brooklyn, New York, is celebrated for her inventive use of materials to examine language, memory, and everyday objects. Tenser transforms concrete, fabric, and found elements into poetic sculptures that question how form carries meaning. Her recent works, including cube-like structures originally conceived as cases for alphabet forms, blend abstraction with subtle narrative. The Guggenheim award arrives as Tenser’s practice gains wider institutional attention.

Sheida Soleimani, an Iranian-American artist and fine arts professor at Brandeis University in Providence, Rhode Island, receives the fellowship in photography. Soleimani’s sharp, often satirical images and installations address politics, gender, and diaspora with bold visual language. Her work frequently incorporates performance, collage, and constructed scenes that critique power structures while maintaining a deeply personal perspective. Collections holding her pieces include the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Other notable visual arts fellows include American Artist, a New York-based sculptor and new media practitioner whose installations probe surveillance, technology, and racial dynamics. American Artist’s recent solo exhibition at Pioneer Works in 2025 demonstrated a keen ability to merge digital critique with physical form.

Sonya Clark, recognized for her fiber and textile works, employs human hair and everyday materials to investigate the Black American experience, history, and identity. Her traveling exhibition “We Are Each Other” has brought these intimate, powerful pieces to venues including the High Museum of Art and Cranbrook Museum of Art.

Leeza Meksin, co-founder of the Brooklyn artist-run gallery Ortega y Gasset Projects, contributes sculptural and installation practices that engage architecture, gender, and domestic space.

Additional fine arts fellows include John Ahearn, Fia Backström, Elena Bajo, Amy Bessone, Raymond Boisjoly, Kota Ezawa, Jude Griebel, Iva Gueorguieva, Karl Haendel, Fariba Hajamadi, Allison Janae Hamilton, LaMont Hamilton, James Hoff, Julia M. Kunin, Monica Majoli, Aspen Mays, John Miller, Marina Rosenfeld, Michael Ross, Francis Ruyter, Kate Shepherd, Claire Sherman, Juana Valdes, Jennifer West, and Anne Wilson. Photography fellows feature Collier Schorr, Chris McCaw, Fred Ritchin, Lara Shipley, and others.

This year’s selections occur against a backdrop of shifting arts funding and institutional challenges. The unrestricted nature of Guggenheim Fellowships provides critical flexibility, allowing artists to experiment without immediate commercial or institutional pressures. Many recipients plan to use the support for research travel, new studio time, or ambitious projects that might otherwise remain unrealized.

The announcement underscores the foundation’s commitment to artistic freedom at a time when creative fields face economic uncertainty. Fellows represent diverse geographies, backgrounds, and approaches, from Houston-based video explorations to Brooklyn-based sculptural inquiries and Providence-based photographic critique.

As the 223 fellows begin their supported periods, expectations run high for fresh contributions that will enrich museums, galleries, and public discourse in the years ahead. The Guggenheim Foundation continues its century-long tradition of investing in individuals whose work promises lasting impact.

Darren Smith is an Arts Reporter at Art Chain News covering contemporary art, digital art and NFTs, body art, and the intersections between these fields.

This article is based on exhibition statements, auction and market reports.