United States Artists Reveals 2026 Fellows

United States Artists (USA) has announced fifty 2026 Fellows alongside the Berresford Prize recipient as the organization commemorates its 20th Anniversary. The USA Fellowship, an award of $50,000, grants artists the freedom to allocate funds to their unique needs—whether towards expanding their practice, covering living expenses, accessing healthcare, or investing in their communities. The Berresford Prize is a $50,000 annual award honoring a cultural practitioner for their significant contributions to the advancement of artists in society.

In addition, USA Fellowship awardees receive tailored support such as financial planning, career consulting, legal advice, and personal care. These accompanying resources reflect USA’s agility in addressing artists’ evolving needs, being in constant dialogue with artists on how their practices and livelihoods can be most effectively supported.

“For two decades, United States Artists has advanced a simple yet powerful conviction—that artists are essential to the imagination and health of our society,” said Judilee Reed, President and CEO of United States Artists. “Our commitment to unrestricted support, with programs such as the USA Fellowship, has enabled artists across every discipline and place to sustain their livelihoods, take creative risks, and define their own paths forward. Through the Berresford Prize, we recognize that there are creative administrators who create the conditions that support artists. The legacy of USA relies on the vitality and enduring impact of these artists and administrators, whose work continues to reimagine and enrich our collective future. We look forward to the next twenty years and beyond.”

USA Fellows are selected based on their groundbreaking artistic visions, unique perspectives within their fields, and evident potential for the award to make a significant impact in their practices and lives. The Fellowship is awarded through a year-long, peer-led selection process in ten disciplines. Each year’s cohort reflects the current cultural and societal moment, honoring a plurality of voices from diverse backgrounds and often-overlooked experiences, identities, and perspectives.

The 50 artists in the 2026 cohort span 19 US states and Washington DC, having made names for themselves through work that is activated by audiences and interlocutors. Many of this year’s Fellows explore personal archives, trace artistic lineages, and move fluidly between inheritance and invention. In doing so, they enlighten histories, surface overlooked narratives, and challenge the status quo of whose stories are preserved. Select 2026 Fellows include:

• Improvisor and composer Ben LaMar Gay, touring for his latest release, Yowzers, with his ensemble across the U.S. and Europe this year
• Interdisciplinary artist Edra Soto, showcasing a new installation, the place of dwelling, at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art January 2026
• Filmmaker Fawzia Mirza, director on the TV series Deli Boys with a second season set to premiere soon
• Artist Maia Chao, who will be participating in the 2026 Whitney Biennial, opening in March
• Choreographer, dancer, and director Shamel Pitts, performing Marks of RED alongside an all-femme ensemble in Minneapolis, Boston, and the UK this spring
• Musician, producer, and conceptualist Terri Lyne Carrington, who recently released her latest album We Insist 2025! with vocalist Christie Dashiell

As part of its ongoing commitment to uplifting artists and responding to their needs, USA also recognizes the vital contributions of those who support and advance creative communities. Established in 2019, the Berresford Prize honors administrators, curators, scholars, and producers who create platforms and conditions for artists to thrive. The Prize awards individuals shaping sustainable pathways for artists and cultural practitioners.

The 2026 Berresford Prize recipient, Lori Lea Pourier (Oglala Lakota), is a long-standing arts leader who has made an enduring impact on the cultural preservation, advocacy, and artistic possibilities of Indigenous Arts ecologies across the nation. From her early career at the First Nations Development Institute and the International Indigenous Women’s Network, to her founding of the First Peoples Fund, where she is now Senior Fellow, Pourier has created a legacy of supporting and advocating for the work of Native artists and arts communities for nearly 30 years.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award named in recognition of Susan Berresford. I first met Susan early in my career during her tenure at the Ford Foundation. As a young Native woman entering the Foundation’s offices for the first time, I could not have imagined the path that lay ahead. In 2006, while hosting Ford Foundation staff and grantees in the Black Hills of South Dakota, we witnessed the launch of United States Artists. Since then, many First Peoples Fund artists and culture bearers have gone on to be recognized by United States Artists—an enduring reflection of the vision and investment that began in those early years,” said Pourier.