Alison Saar has been named the 2025 recipient of the David C. Driskell Prize by Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, recognizing her significant contributions to the African American art canon. The announcement was made in New York at a celebration held at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in partnership with CULTURED, with a formal gala planned for September featuring a performance by John Legend. Saar, a Los Angeles native known for her commanding sculptures and mixed-media works exploring race, gender, and spiritual identity, joins past honorees including Naomi Beckwith, Ebony G. Patterson, Amy Sherald, and Rashid Johnson.
The prize matters because it provides validation and support for Black artists at a time when civil rights milestones are being threatened, as Saar noted in her statement. Since 2005, the David C. Driskell Prize has spotlighted artists and scholars following in the footsteps of the pioneering African diaspora studies scholar. Saar’s work is held in major museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, and she recently completed a permanent public sculpture in Paris for the International Olympic Committee.