Anonymous Was a Woman, a grant-making organization supporting woman-identifying artists, has announced 15 recipients of its $50,000 grants for 2025. The winners include Candida Alvarez, Park McArthur, Lola Flash, Kunié Sugiura, and Sonya Kelliher-Combs, among others. Founder Susan Unterberg, who initially remained anonymous, revealed herself in 2018 and named the organization after a Virginia Woolf quotation. The grants are primarily for artists over 40, and the organization has recently expanded to fund environmentally minded projects.
The announcement matters because it highlights ongoing support for women artists at a time when both artistic freedom and women's rights are under threat, according to Unterberg. The grant program, now in its third decade, has a track record of backing influential figures like Joan Jonas and Simone Leigh, reinforcing its role in redressing gender imbalances in the art world. The 2025 cohort also reflects a diverse range of practices and backgrounds, from painting and sculpture to photography and Indigenous contemporary art.