Cheryl Finley, the director of visual arts and culture at Spelman College and head of the Atlanta University Center Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective, has been awarded the 2025 David C. Driskell Prize by Atlanta’s High Museum of Art. The prize, established in 2005, includes $50,000 and honors figures who have made significant contributions to African American art and art history. Past recipients include Alison Saar, Naomi Beckwith, Amy Sherald, Mark Bradford, and Rashid Johnson. Finley has led the AUC Art Collective since 2019, co-organized the “Black Portraiture[s]” academic convening since 2013, and authored books such as Committed to Memory: The Art of the Slave Ship Icon.
The Driskell Prize matters because it not only recognizes Finley’s scholarly and curatorial work at the intersection of African American art and institutional change, but also highlights the critical role of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in shaping the next generation of arts leaders. At a time when arts and education funding faces historic challenges, the prize underscores the importance of innovative pedagogy and collaborative work in expanding how African American art and art history are exhibited and understood.