Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize

The Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize, co-organized by The Contemporary Austin, comprises a $200,000 unrestricted prize to an artist along with a solo exhibitions in Austin and New York, an accompanying publication, and related public programming. In accordance with the mission of the prize, the winning artist is selected based on their outstanding merit, strong record of international museum and gallery exhibitions, and the transformational impact the award stands to have on their life and career. The artist is selected by a rotating, independent advisory committee made up of renowned curators, directors, and art historians of contemporary art. Past awardees include Rodney McMillian (2018), Nicole Eisenman (2020), Tarek Atoui (2022), and Lubaina Himid (2024). 

The recipient of the 2026 Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize is interdisciplinary artist, writer, and educator Sable Elyse Smith. Smith was selected by a jury led by Alex Klein, Head Curator & Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Contemporary Austin, which included Dan Byers, John R. and Barbara Robinson Family Director, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University; Valerie Cassel Oliver, Sydney and Frances Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy, former Director of the Kunstinstiuut Melly; and Christine Y. Kim, Britton Family Curator-at-Large, North American Art, Tate Modern, along with institutional advisor Jonathan Rider, Director of The FLAG Art Foundation.

 “Amanda [Fuhrman] and I have been interested in supporting artists through a major prize that would allow them the freedom to live and focus on creating their most ambitious work,” stated Glenn Fuhrman, Founder of The FLAG Art Foundation. “We were inspired by what Suzanne, Louis, and the team at The Contemporary Austin accomplished with the inaugural Suzanne Deal Booth Art Prize, so rather than initiating a new award, we realized that by collaborating we could collectively create an unparalleled opportunity for the artists and institutions involved going forward.”