Anonymous Was a Woman, a funding organization that provides funding to female artists, has revealed that 15 artists will receive $50,000 in grants this year.
These artists include Candida Alvarez, a painter who was recently the subject of a retrospective at El Museo del Barrio in New York; artist Park McArthur, who earlier this year launched an ambitious survey simultaneously at museums in Vienna and Mönchengladbach, Germany; and photographer Lola Flash, whose work is now on display at the Museum of Modern Art.
Also in this year’s class are photographer Kunié Sugiura, who had an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in the spring; and sculptor Sonya Kelliher-Combs, whose work is currently included in Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art’s current survey of Indigenous contemporary art, “Indigenous Nows.”
“Every year I’m reminded why this work is important,” Anonymous is Women founder Susan Unterberg told me art news in an email. “At a time when both artistic freedom and women’s rights are increasingly fragile, I am inspired by this year’s recipients more than ever. Their vision, rigor, and originality remind us what is at stake and advance our mission to support artists pursuing their work with conviction and imagination.”
Vinterberg founded Anonymous is a Woman in 1996, so-named because she initially hid the fact that she was a donor to the group. She didn’t reveal she was the organization’s founder until 2018. At the time, the organization had funded countless artists over the years, from Joan Jonas to Simone Leigh.
The organization is primarily known for its $50,000 grants, which are open to artists over the age of 40. But in recent years, Anonymous Was a Woman has also expanded its initiatives to include funding for environmental projects.
The full list of 2025 Women Anonymous Award recipients is below.
Candida alvarez
Amblin Bart
Joanne Carson
Cecilia Condit
Laura Flash
Sonya Kelliher-Combs
Michel Marcuse
Parker MacArthur
Nicole Miller
narcissist
Dara Rivera
Linda Stark
Sugiura Kunie
Zhang Hongan
Paula Wilson
