The annual Pérez art prize comes with a $50,000 award. Here’s the 2021 winner
Cuban artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons has been named as the recipient of the $50,000 Pérez Prize for 2021. The award, funded by Jorge and Darlene Pérez, was announced Saturday at the annual Art of the Party fundraiser for the county’s public art museum, Pérez Art Museum Miami, also supported by the Pérez family.
Campos-Pons is known for her multimedia practice that incorporates photography, painting, sculpture, film, video and performance reflecting her history as a descendant of Nigerians brought to Cuba as slaves in the 19th century. The museum holds several of her works in its permanent collection. A series of Polaroid prints comprising the work, “The Magician’s Tools,” are now on display as part of the show, “Allied with Power: African and African Diaspora Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection.”
“The Pérez Prize honors creatives who use art to overcome the challenges that affect our society most,” said Jorge M. Pérez via a statement. “As an acclaimed professor and artist — who’s touched so many through her work exploring history, race and culture — there’s no one more deserving of this prize than Maria Magdalena. I couldn’t be more honored to support her in furthering her craft.”
The Art of the Party, a hybrid in-person and virtual event, also raised over $500,000 for arts education, according to museum director Franklin Sirmans.
