Guggenheim Foundation names American Artist, Sonya Clark, and Allison Janae Hamilton to 2026 fellows class
The Guggenheim Foundation has announced its 101st class of Guggenheim Fellows, naming Brooklyn-based American Artist, textile artist and educator Sonya Clark, and interdisciplinary artist Allison Janae Hamilton among 30 fine artists in a cohort of 223 people across 55 disciplines.
Selected from 5,000 applicants through a peer-reviewed process, the 2026 fellows will each receive a financial stipend intended to support their work in what the foundation describes as “the freest possible conditions.” The class includes artists, scholars, and scientists from 10 countries, and nearly one third are not affiliated with a university.
The announcement arrives at a moment of pressure for the creative sector. According to the foundation, applications in the creative arts and humanities are up 50% from last year, even as sharp funding cuts continue to threaten artistic production and expression.
In a statement, Guggenheim Foundation president and poet Edward Hirsch said the new class reflects “the world’s best thinkers, innovators, and creators in art, science, and scholarship.” He added that as the foundation enters its second century, he expects the fellows to produce “bold and inspiring work, undaunted by the challenges ahead.”
Founded in 1925, the Guggenheim Foundation has long supported visual artists, filmmakers, writers, poets, architects, musicians, choreographers, and other creative practitioners. Its list of past fellows includes Louise Bourgeois, Milton Avery, and Ansel Adams, placing this year’s recipients within a lineage that has helped define modern and contemporary American art.
For the visual arts, the 2026 class underscores both breadth and continuity: established names sit alongside artists whose practices move across media, material, and discipline. In that sense, the fellowship remains what it has always been — not simply a grant, but a signal of where serious artistic inquiry is headed next.
