American artists Jennifer Packer and Marie Watt have been named winners of this year's Heinz Awards for the Arts, each receiving an unrestricted cash prize of $250,000. The awards, now in their 30th year, are distributed by the Pittsburgh-based Heinz Family Foundation and honor six recipients annually across three categories: arts, the economy, and the environment. Packer, based in New York, is known for her jewel-toned paintings that explore Black figuration and abstraction, while Watt, a citizen of the Seneca Nation, works with printmaking, textiles, and sculpture to examine Indigenous traditions and community memory, notably through her "Blanket Stories" series.
The Heinz Awards celebrate vision and spirit that produce lasting good, and this recognition brings significant visibility and financial support to two artists whose practices engage deeply with identity, history, and storytelling. The unrestricted $250,000 prize allows Packer and Watt to continue their work without constraints, underscoring the foundation's commitment to fostering artistic achievement that resonates beyond the art world. The award also highlights the growing institutional acknowledgment of Indigenous and Black contemporary artists.