The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) announces artist Kara Walker as the recipient of the 2018 Contemporary Vision Award.

The Contemporary Vision Award celebrates the extraordinary achievements of global leaders—creators, innovators and change-makers — whose work foregrounds contemporary art as a vital and meaningful part of public life. Organized by the Modern Art Council, an SFMOMA art experience group, this event raises essential funds to support the museum’s education and exhibition programs. This year, guests at the Vision Award Society and Grand Benefactor levels will have the option to sponsor tickets for local artists to attend the event.

“Since the early 1990s, Kara Walker has challenged pre-conceived notions of race, sex and representation through contemporary visual art. And as an educator, Kara has inspired generations of artists to find their voices,” said Eungie Joo, curator of contemporary art. “We are delighted to honor her with the Contemporary Vision Award this year and celebrate her creativity, talent and mentorship of the next generation of contemporary artists.”

Walker will be honored at a dinner to be held at the museum on Wednesday, October 3, 2018, where the program will include a conversation between Walker and Eungie Joo, SFMOMA’s curator of contemporary art.

Kara Walker, The Katastwóf Karavan (maquette), 2017; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Accessions Committee Fund purchase; photo: Katherine Du Tiel

Born in Stockton, California and raised in Atlanta, Georgia from the age of 13, Kara Walker is best known for her candid investigation of race, gender, sexuality and violence through silhouetted figures that have been showcased in numerous exhibitions and are held in museum collections worldwide. Walker’s work is included in many museum and public collections, including SFMOMA, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate London, the Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo (MAXXI), Rome, and Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt.