Anonymous Was A Woman announced the ten artists selected to receive the Foundation’s annual award. The “no strings” grant of $25,000 enables women, over 45 years of age and at a critical juncture in their lives or careers, to continue to grow and pursue their work. Many of these artists are represented at SFMOMA.
Lauren Katzowitz Shenfield, director of the program, explained, “Anonymous Was A Woman Awards are synonymous with important recognition in artists’ personal and artistic development. The financial gift helps artists buy time, space, materials, and equipment, often at early stages of a new project, and, sometimes, recover from traumatic life events. In itself, the Award helps artists feel recognized and honored by other distinguished women who seek no credit for the role they play.”
The name of the grant program, Anonymous Was A Woman, refers to a line in Virginia Wolf’s A Room of One’s Own. As the name implies, the nominators and those associated with the program are un-named, and artists are unaware that they are being considered for the award. Winners are often stunned by the news, once even calling back in the middle of the night to confirm that it wasn’t a dream.
Apart from the financial assistance that the artists receive, the grant validates their work and their self-worth. In a letter written to the foundation, an earlier recipient said, “I am in such gratitude for this money. It was such a great gift. Most importantly, it seemed energetically, to have broken the stagnation of my career. If I could just wrap my arms around the wonderful woman responsible for this, I would.”
Another previous recipient explained, “For a woman things don’t get easier as one gets older, they get harder…[I]n my experience, the backlash becomes stronger and stronger against those women who have chosen or fallen outside of societal norms in terms of career, marriage and family. I’ve never felt the weight of society’s judgment more since I turned forty...The grant bought me hard tools of the trade so that I could continue working. The grant bought me time. It bought me confidence…I wish I could get this grant again and again.”
To date, 91 women have received the award. Each year, an outstanding group of distinguished women – art historians, curators, and writers - nominate artists for the award.
Anonymous Was A Woman is administered by Philanthropy Advisors – A Service of UJA-Federation of New York. Philanthropy Advisors is a comprehensive consulting and management organization for private philanthropy.
2011 Award Winners
• Eleanor Antin - Artist
• Linda Besemer - Painter
• Dara Birnbaum - Visual Artist
• Andrea Bowers - Artist
• Ann Hamilton - Artist / Installation
• Yoko Inoue - Visual Artist
• Jungjin Lee - Artist / Photographer
• Mary Miss - Artist
• Sheila Pepe - Artist
• Judith Shea - Sculptor
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