Keisha Scarville, a photographer, has won the Brooklyn Museum's 2026 Uovo Prize. The museum announced the award on Thursday.
Scarville is known for her work about people in diaspora and changing identities.
About the Prize
The Uovo Prize includes $25,000 and a commission from the Brooklyn Museum. Scarville's art will also be shown on the outside of Uovo's art storage building in Bushwick.
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Start Your News DetoxScarville told ARTnews that winning the prize "deeply affirms my creative journey." She feels honored to join past recipients. Growing up in Brooklyn makes the award especially meaningful to her. She believes it will open new doors for her art and help her connect more with her community.
"Where Salt Meets Black Water"
Scarville's presentation for the Brooklyn Museum will be called "Where Salt Meets Black Water." It will open in the museum's plaza on May 8.
The show will cover the plaza with large vinyl copies of Scarville's photos. These photos are from her "Mama's Clothes" series. In this series, Scarville wears her late mother Alma's patterned clothes. The title of the show refers to dark creeks in Guyana, where Scarville's parents came from.
Anne Pasternak, the museum's director, said the presentation honors the Caribbean community. She noted their creativity, traditions, and history have greatly shaped Brooklyn's culture.
The Brooklyn Museum show will also include a photo of Scarville's mother that Scarville did not take herself. Scarville is also getting ready to publish a photo book with MACK.
This is the sixth year for the Uovo Prize. It has a history of helping artists achieve more success. Previous winners include John Edmonds, Oscar yi Hou, Melissa Joseph, Baseera Khan, and Suneil Sanzgiri.
