The Vilcek Foundation is an American nonprofit organization. The foundation's programs include the Vilcek Foundation Prizes.
The Foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the Foundation was inspired by the couple's respective careers in biomedical science and art history, as well as their appreciation for the opportunities offered to them as newcomers to the United States.
Prizes
Vilcek Prizes The Vilcek Prizes are awarded to foreign-born permanent residents of the United States, with significant accomplishments in the arts and sciences. The Foundation awards two Vilcek Prizes annually, one in biomedical science and the other in the arts and humanities. Each prize consists of a $100,000 cash award and a commemorative sculpture designed by Austrian-born graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister.
Vilcek Prize for Excellence The Vilcek Prize for Excellence, introduced in 2019, recognizes immigrants who have profoundly impacted American society and world culture or individuals who champion immigrant causes. The recipients receive a $100,000 cash award and a commemorative diploma designed by the &Walsh agency.
Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise are awarded to foreign-born individuals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement during the early stages of their careers. The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise are awarded each year in the field of biomedical science and a selected art field. Creative Promise applicants are required to submit essays, personal statements, and examples of their work. To be eligible for the prize, applicants must have been born abroad, reside permanently in the United States, and be within the specified age limit. As of 2013, three prizes each were to be awarded in biomedical science and a designated art field. Each recipient is awarded a $50,000 cash prize and a commemorative plaque.
Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History In 2024, the Vilcek Foundation announced a new prize, The Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History. The prize is named for the Foundation's co-founder Marica Vilcek's career in art history. The prize is awarded to foreign-born art history and museum professionals whose work has had a profound impact on their institutions, and on their field or area of scholarship and curatorial work more broadly. In its inaugural presentation in 2024, three prizes of $100,000 each were awarded to Monika Bincsik, Pierre Terjanian, and Wolfram Koeppe.
The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Curatorial Work recognize immigrant professionals whose work has a profound impact in their field, and on arts and culture more broadly.
Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare In 2019, the Vilcek Foundation partnered with the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to create a joint award, the Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare. The award is given to a foreign-born individual in the United States who has demonstrated an extraordinary impact on humanism in healthcare through their professional achievements.
The 2019 Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare was given to Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha for her advocacy and interventions in addressing the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Dr. Vivek Murthy, 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States, was the recipient of the 2020 Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare. Dr. Jirayut 'New' Latthivongskorn and Dr. Denisse Rojas Marquez were the joint recipients of the 2021 Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare.
New American Perspectives
Since 2007, the Vilcek Foundation has been a sponsor of the New American Perspectives (formerly the "New American Filmmakers") program at the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF). Curated and presented in collaboration with HIFF, the program celebrates foreign-born filmmakers' contributions to cinema in the United States.
Prize recipients
Vilcek Prizes Name Year Category Country of BirthMarianne Bronner2025Biomedical ScienceHungaryGuadalupe Maravilla2025Visual ArtsEl SalvadorOluremi C. Onabanjo2025Curatorial WorkUnited Kingdom to Nigerian parentsLuciano Marraffini2024Biomedical ScienceArgentinaRamon Tejada2024DesignDominican RepublicAlejandro Sánchez Alvarado2023Biomedical ScienceVenezuelaDu Yun2023MusicChinaAngélique Kidjo2023MusicBeninVishva M. Dixit2022Biomedical ScienceKenyaSoledad Barrio2022DanceSpainRuth Lehmann2021Biomedical ScienceGermanyRodrigo Prieto2021FilmmakingMexicoXiaowei Zhuang2020Biomedical ScienceChinaEdwidge Danticat2020LiteratureHaiti Angelika Amon 2019 Biomedical Science Austria Marcus Samuelsson 2019 Culinary Arts Ethiopia Alexander Rudensky 2018 Biomedical Science Russia Teddy Cruz 2018 Architecture Guatemala Lily JanYuh Nung Jan 2017 Biomedical Science China Nari Ward 2017 Fine Arts Jamaica Dan Littman 2016 Biomedical Science Romania Blanka Zizka 2016 Theatre Czech Republic Peter Walter 2015 Biomedical Science Germany Andrew Bolton 2015 Fashion United Kingdom Thomas Jessell 2014 Biomedical Science United Kingdom Neri Oxman 2014 Design Israel Richard Flavell Ruslan Medzhitov 2013 Biomedical Science United KingdomUzbekistan Yo-Yo Ma 2013 Contemporary Music France (to Chinese parents) Carlos Bustamante 2012 Biomedical Science Peru Mikhail Baryshnikov 2012 Dance Latvia (to Russian parents) Titia de Lange 2011 Biomedical Science Netherlands Charles Simic 2011 Literature Yugoslavia Alexander Varshavsky 2010 Biomedical Science Russia José Andrés 2010 Culinary Arts Spain Huda Zoghbi 2009 Biomedical Science Lebanon Mike Nichols 2009 Filmmaking Germany Inder Verma 2008 Biomedical Science India Osvaldo Golijov 2008 Music Argentina Rudolf Jaenisch 2007 Biomedical Science Germany Denise Scott Brown 2007 Architecture Zambia Joan Massagué 2006 Biomedical Science Spain Christo and Jeanne-Claude 2006 Fine Art Bulgaria, Morocco (to French parents)
Vilcek Prizes for Excellence Name Year Category Country of BirthDr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.2025Literary ScholarshipUnited StatesKatalin Karikó2022BiotechnologyHungaryAndrew Yang2021Public ServiceUnited StatesRobert A. Katzmann2020Administration of JusticeUnited States Carmen C. Bambach 2019 Art History and Museum Work Chile
Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise Name Year Category Country of BirthElham Azizi2025Biomedical ScienceIranGuosong Hong2025Biomedical ScienceChinaMaayan Levy2025Biomedical ScienceIsraelSelva Aparicio2025Visual ArtistSpainFelipe Baeza2025Visual ArtistMexicoJeffrey Meris2025Visual ArtistHaiti, raised in the BahamasDonna Honarpisheh2025Curatorial WorkCanada to Iranian parentsAimé Iglesias Lukin2025Curatorial WorkArgentinaBernardo Mosqueira2025Curatorial WorkBrazilGerta Hoxhaj2024Biomedical ScienceAlbaniaTomasz Nowakowski2024Biomedical SciencePolandTakanori Takebe2024Biomedical ScienceJapanWael Morcos2024DesignLebanonJuan Carlos Noguera2024DesignGuatemalaMaryam Turkey2024DesignIraqEdward Chouchani2023Biomedical ScienceCanadaBiyu J. He2023Biomedical ScienceChinaShixin Liu2023Biomedical ScienceChinaArooj Aftab2023MusicSaudi Arabia (to Pakistani parents)Juan Pablo Contreras2023MusicCanadaRuby Ibarra2023MusicPhilippinesMarkita del Carpio Landry2022Biomedical ScienceCanadaHani Goodarzi2022Biomedical ScienceIranHarris Wang2022Biomedical ScienceChinaTatiana Desardouin2022DanceSwitzerlandTamisha Guy2022DanceTrinidadLeonardo Sandoval2022DanceBrazilJuan Pablo González2021FilmmakingMexicoMiko Revereza2021FilmmakingPhilippinesNanfu Wang2021FilmmakingChinaMohamed Abou Donia2021Biomedical ScienceEgyptIbrahim Cissé2021Biomedical ScienceNigerSilvi Rouskin2021Biomedical ScienceBulgariaKivanç Birsoy2020Biomedical ScienceTurkeyViviana Gradinaru2020Biomedical ScienceRomaniaMartin Jonikas2020Biomedical ScienceFranceYaa Gyasi2020LiteratureGhanaValeria Luiselli2020LiteratureMexicoJenny Xie2020LiteratureChina Amit Choudhary 2019 Biomedical Science India Jeanne T. Paz 2019 Biomedical Science Georgia Mikhail G. Shapiro 2019 Biomedical Science Russia Tejal Rao 2019 Culinary Arts United Kingdom Fabian von Hauske Valtierra 2019 Culinary Arts Mexico Nite Yun 2019 Culinary Arts Thailand Polina Anikeeva 2018 Biomedical Science Russia Sergiu P. Pașca 2018 Biomedical Science Romania Feng Zhang 2018 Biomedical Science China Mona Ghandi 2018 Architecture Iran James Leng 2018 Architecture China Jing Liu 2018 Architecture China Michaela Gack 2017 Biomedical Science Germany Michael Halassa 2017 Biomedical Science Jordan Ahmet Yildiz 2017 Biomedical Science Turkey Iman Issa 2017 Fine Arts Egypt Meleko Mokgosi 2017 Fine Arts BotswanaCarlos Motta 2017 Fine Arts Colombia Fernando Camargo 2016 Biomedical Science Peru Roberta Capp 2016 Biomedical Science Brazil Houra Merrikh 2016 Biomedical Science Iran Sarah Benson 2016 Theatre United Kingdom Desdemona Chiang 2016 Theatre Taiwan Yi Zhao 2016 Theatre China Sun Hur 2015 Biomedical Science South Korea Rob Knight 2015 Biomedical Science New Zealand Franziska Michor 2015 Biomedical Science Austria Siki Im 2015 Fashion Germany, to Korean parents Natallia Pilipenka 2015 Fashion Belarus, to Ukrainian parents Tuyen Tran 2015 Fashion Vietnam Antonio Giraldez 2014 Biomedical Science Spain Stavros Lomvardas 2014 Biomedical Science Greece Pardis Sabeti 2014 Biomedical Science Iran Yasaman Hashemian 2014 Design Iran Mansour Ourasanah 2014 Design Togo Quilian Riano 2014 Design Colombia Hashim Al-Hashimi 2013 Biomedical Science Lebanon Michael Rape 2013 Biomedical Science Germany Joanna Wysocka 2013 Biomedical Science Poland James Abrahart 2013 Contemporary Music United Kingdom Samuel Bazawule 2013 Contemporary Music Ghana Tigran Hamasyan 2013 Contemporary Music Armenia Alice Ting 2012 Biomedical Science Taiwan Michel Kouakou 2012 Dance Ivory Coast Yibin Kang 2011 Biomedical Science China Dinaw Mengestu 2011 Literature Ethiopia Harmit Malik 2010 Biomedical Science India Varin Keokitvon 2010 Culinary Arts Laos Howard Chang 2009 Biomedical Science Taiwan Ham Tran 2009 Filmmaking Vietnam
In 2013, the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise were changed from recognizing one winner and four finalists to recognizing three winners in each category. The past finalists are listed below.
Name Year Category Country of Birth Konrad Hochedlinger 2012 Biomedical Science Austria Andreas Hochwagen 2012 Biomedical Science Austria Songhai Shi 2012 Biomedical Science China Benjamin tenOever 2012 Biomedical Science Canada Fanny Ara 2012 Dance Spain Thang Dao 2012 Dance Vietnam Alice Gosti 2012 Dance Italy Pontus Lidberg 2012 Dance Sweden Katherine Fitzgerald 2011 Biomedical Science Ireland Ekaterina Heldwein 2011 Biomedical Science Russia Galit Lahav 2011 Biomedical Science Israel Elina Zuniga 2011 Biomedical Science Argentina Ilya Kaminsky 2011 Literature Ukraine Tea Obreht 2011 Literature Serbia Vu Tran 2011 Literature Vietnam Simon Van Booy 2011 Literature Wales Iannis Aifantis 2010 Biomedical Science Greece Rustem Ismagilov 2010 Biomedical Science Russia Vamsi Mootha 2010 Biomedical Science India Jin Zhang 2010 Biomedical Science China Michael Cheng 2010 Culinary Arts Malaysia Yoshinori Ishii 2010 Culinary Arts Japan Nandini Mukherjee 2010 Culinary Arts India Boris Portnoy 2010 Culinary Arts Russia Katerina Akassoglou 2009 Biomedical Science Greece Evgeny Nudler 2009 Biomedical Science Russia F. Nina Papavasiliou 2009 Biomedical Science Greece Aviv Regev 2009 Biomedical Science Israel Almudena Carracedo 2009 Film Spain Amin Matalqa 2009 Film Jordan Kirill Mikhanovsky 2009 Film Russia Shih-Ching Tsou 2009 Film Taiwan
Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History