Edgar Calel, a Maya Kaqchikel artist from Chi Xot, Guatemala, has been awarded the 2026 Sam Gilliam Award, as announced by the Dia Art Foundation and the Sam Gilliam Foundation. The prize includes $75,000 and a public programme at a Dia Foundation location this autumn. Calel’s multidisciplinary practice—spanning drawing, sculpture, installation, and performance—centers on ancestral knowledge, Indigenous experience, and the legacies of colonialism. He was selected by a jury of curators and foundation leaders, including Jessica Morgan, director of the Dia Art Foundation.
The Sam Gilliam Award, now in its third year, recognizes artists whose work has made a significant contribution to art and for whom the prize would be transformative. Calel joins previous winners Ibrahim Mahama (2024) and Sheela Gowda (2025), underscoring the award’s commitment to supporting artists from diverse global contexts. The award highlights the growing institutional recognition of Indigenous perspectives in contemporary art and provides Calel with a platform to expand his practice through a major public programme.