Lincoln, MA – At its Fall Meeting, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum announced both a major gift from the Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Foundation to endow the Rappaport Prize in perpetuity, as well as the 2010 winner of the Rappaport Prize.
The prestigious Rappaport Prize, which annually awards $25,000 to a contemporary artist with a relationship to New England, is both the longest-standing New England art prize as well as one of the largest awards of its kind in the region. “Creative artists enrich our lives in New England and are part of the magnet that attract and keep our creative workforce in this region,” Jerry Rappaport said. “Phyllis and I are pleased in endowing the Rappaport Prize to permanently provide annual recognition and support for these outstanding and creative artists.” Foundation Chair Phyllis Rappaport added, “Since deCordova has from its inception had a unique focus on art in New England we believe that they will continue to maintain the standards of the Rappaport Art Prize. Our greatest hope is to celebrate an important artist, generate excitement for their art and perspective, and provide some financial support to advance their careers to newer heights.”
DeCordova Director Dennis Kois announced that the Rappaport Foundation has made a transformative gift. After a decade of awarding the Rappaport Prize to deserving artists, the endowment fund will allow deCordova to support the best of New England’s artists for decades to come.
Kois noted about the endowment, “The generous gift endowing the Rappaport Prize speaks to deCordova’s role as the only institution in New England that supports the region’s art in a broad sense—via the deCordova Biennial, a growing collection of New England art, exhibition opportunities for regional artists, and through publication and scholarship. The Rappaport Prize is the capstone of all these efforts, and we could not be more grateful to the Rappaport Foundation for their vote of confidence for deCordova’s support of New England’s art and artists.”
Kois went on to announce that the 11th recipient of the Rappaport Prize is artist, writer, and filmmaker Liza Johnson. According to Dina Deitsch, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at deCordova, “Liza is a rare artist that manages to combine incredible artistic skill with a profound concern and awareness of social inequalities to produce touching yet powerful works of art.”
DeCordova is particularly excited to support this artist because the funding will directly support her current project. “I’m so flattered and honored that you’ve invited me to receive the Rappaport Prize,” Johnson exclaimed in an acceptance video played at the announcement. “I’m grateful to the Foundation and to the Museum, and hearing I won the Prize is perfect timing. This year is my sabbatical from Williams College, so I have a big slate of new work and a feature film [Return] that I’m working on. It makes a concrete, material difference to have the support as I go into a year where I can do that.” Samples of Johnson’s work can be viewed at decordova.org/rappaportprize/2010/.