Chitra Ganesh Receives Anonymous Was a Woman Award

CHITRA GANESH RECEIVES 

ANONYMOUS WAS A WOMAN AWARD

Gallery Wendi Norris is proud to congratulate Chitra Ganesh on receiving a 2020 Anonymous Was a Woman Award. 

The annual award recognizes women-identifying artists over 40 years of age who have made significant contributions to art, who continue to create new work, and who are at a critical juncture in their practice. Each recipient receives an unrestricted grant of $25,000. 

Alongside Ganesh, the 2020 award recipients include: D.Y. Begay, 67; Linda Goode Bryant, 71; Barbara Chase-Riboud, 81; Elena Del Rivero, 71; Karen Gunderson, 77; Virginia Jaramillo, 81; Claudia Joskowicz, 52; Karyn Olivier, 52; and Juana Valdés, 56. Winners were chosen from among a pool of applicants recommended by a group of distinguished art historians, curators, writers, and artists who serve as anonymous nominators. The “no strings attached” award is intended to provide the recipients with support and recognition as they continue to develop their creative vision. 

Ganesh joins current and former gallery artists María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Simone Leigh in receiving this extraordinary honor. 

Anonymous Was a Woman was founded by artist Susan Unterberg in 1996. In 2018, after more than two decades of anonymous giving, Unterberg revealed her identity as the creator and sole patron of the award program. “I founded Anonymous Was A Woman to fill a void that I witnessed personally: support for women artists in the middle stages of their careers,” said Unterberg. 

While it is not need-based, the award has often had a transformative impact on the lives and careers of the winners, many of whom received it prior to gaining wider recognition. These artists have gone on to present solo exhibitions at institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Guggenheim Museum, among many others; to create important public art projects, performances, and installations; and to receive significant critical acclaim. 

For more information about Anonymous Was a Woman, click here.

Artwork: Chitra Ganesh, After the Storm, 2019, Water-based paints, fabric hardener, archival PVA glue, mixed media; mounted on paper on linen, 84 x 108 inches (213.4 x 274.3 cm)