Artadia, a non-profit grantmaking organization and nationwide community of visual artists, curators, and patrons, is thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2024 Los Angeles Artadia Awards: Phung Huynh, the Marciano Art Foundation Artadia Award recipient, Young Joon Kwak, and Na Mira.
The 2024 Los Angeles Artadia Awards application was open to visual artists working in any visual media, at any stage in their career, who have been living and working within Los Angeles county for a minimum of two years. We received 472 applications, with 61% of the applicants identifying as Black, Native American or Alaskan Native, Latinx, Asian, Arab, biracial or multiracial; 60% of applicants identify as women, gender nonconforming, or nonbinary; and 61% self-identify as emerging artists.
The Awards decision was reached after an extensive two-tiered jurying process. This year’s finalists for the Awards included Teresa Baker, Adrian Culverson, and Nery Lemus, selected by Round 1 jurors Josie Lopez, Head Curator and Curator of Art, Albuquerque Museum; Selby Nimrod, Assistant Curator, MIT List Visual Arts Center; and Selene Preciado, Curator & Director of Programs, LACE.
On the jurying process, Nimrod shared, “Jurying Artadia’s Los Angeles Awards alongside such esteemed colleagues, as well as being an honor, was an excellent opportunity to become acquainted with a sampling of the exceptional practitioners in LA’s thriving arts community. This range is evidenced in the accomplished practices of the six finalists: while spanning diverse media and subject matter, they share in common bold material and formal approaches and lucidly articulated visions.”
All six finalists held virtual studio visits with jurors Selene Preciado and Eugenie Tsai, Independent Curator.
“Serving as a juror for Artadia’s LA awards introduced me to the generous and generative practices of six finalists. I found it a remarkably uplifting experience, leaving me optimistic and hopeful, feelings in short supply these days,” said Tsai.
Fellow juror Preciado commented, “The Artadia Awards are pivotal in elevating the talent of visual artists in Los Angeles. The three selected artists’ practice center connection: Phung Huynh describes herself as a conduit that brings people together; Young Joon Kwak describes themselves as a bridge between communities; and Na Mira as a collaborator across borders and timelines. They all address resilience through memory, from unique perspectives. I am proud of the representation of our diasporic existence in such powerful and moving work.”
Since its founding in 1999, Artadia has awarded over $6 million in unrestricted funds to over 400 artists nationally. Celebrating visual artists and their foundational role in shaping society, the Artadia Award benefits three artists annually in seven major US cities with high concentrations of creative workers—Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The 2024 Los Angeles Artadia Awards are supported by Capital Group, the Marciano Art Foundation, the Artadia Board of Directors, Artadia Council supporters, and individual donors across the country.
Image, left to right: Phung Huynh (photo credit Ken Gonzales-Day); Young Joon Kwak (photo credit Joe Pugliese); and Na Mira (photo courtesy of the artist).