The Rabkin Prize honors writers who contribute significantly to essential conversations, facilitate public discourse, conduct original art historical research, and highlight the value of artists' work. the prize honors the artistic and intellectual achievements of contemporary art writers and includes an unrestricted award of $50,000.
2024 Rabkin Prize Winners are: Greg Allen (greg.org), Holland Cotter (Chief Art Critic, New York Times), Robin Givhan (Senior Critic-at-Large, Washington Post), Thomas Lawson (Artist and Writer, Los Angeles), Siddhartha Mitter (Freelance Writer and Critic), Cassie Packard (Writer, Reviews Editor at Frieze, Author of Art Rules), TK Smith (Cultural Historian and Curator at Emory University), Emily Watlington (Writer and Editor at Art in America).
This year, the Rabkin Foundation introduced a new initiative called the Rabkin Interviews, which features commissioned portraits of the winners in their workspaces and interviews about their lives and ideas. This project will launch in September and be available on Substack, social media, the foundation’s website, and various podcast platforms.
The Rabkin Prize, now in its eighth cycle, has awarded a total of $3.5 million since its inception in 2017. Nominations come from visual arts professionals nationwide, and an independent jury selects the winners. The jury for this year included Dennis Lim, Rashid Shabazz, and Alexandra Grant. Writers can be renominated and remain eligible until they win.
The Rabkin Prize is the flagship initiative of the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation, based in Portland, Maine. Leo Rabkin was an artist who exhibited in New York, and his wife, Dorothea, were passionate about art discussions and built a significant collection of folk and outsider art. The foundation's headquarters features a gallery dedicated to exploring Leo Rabkin's work.
Sayart / Amia Nguyen, amyngwyen13@gmail.com
