Art Bridges Foundation Awards Spelman College with Inaugural Bridgemaker Prize

Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Hudson River Museum and Peoria Riverfront Museum recognized for their outstanding partnerships with Art Bridges

Art Bridges Foundation recently announced Spelman College Museum of Fine Art as one of three recipients of the inaugural Bridgemaker Prize. The annual award recognizes Art Bridges Museum partners whose projects have reimagined museum practices, elevated diverse storytelling, and deepened community connections through innovative, interdisciplinary programs.

Our partnership with Art Bridges has enabled us to share powerful works of art from the collection with new audiences and highlight the works that Spelman and so many HBCUs have done to preserve and showcase art by great artists,” said Spelman Museum Director Dr. Liz Andrews. “It is an honor to be recognized for this work and we are emboldened to continue bringing thoughtful exhibitions and programs to the world."

Each winner will receive a $50,000 award to support future projects in alignment with Art Bridges’ mission. In addition to the monetary prize, recipients will have the opportunity to spotlight their work on Art Bridges’ digital platforms, expanding their reach and inspiring museums nationwide to push boundaries, foster dialogue, and champion the transformative power of art. The prize will be awarded in two categories reflecting the foundation’s core pillars: art sharing and community engagement.

The Spelman Museum has leveraged Art Bridges support to tour Silver Linings: Celebrating the Spelman Art Collection. Showcasing Spelman’s permanent collection, Silver Linings highlights the legacy of artists of African descent spanning the twentieth century through the contemporary moment. This exhibition is critical to understanding the importance of art collecting within Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and includes work by Black artists who have been overlooked by mainstream art museums.

The exhibition toured with a slate of educational programming, including lectures by Dr. Andrews at the University of Michigan Museum of Art and the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. Over the course of its tour, the exhibition has seen an estimated total attendance of more than 112,300, with around 29,500 participants in related programming.

The Bridgemaker Prize is an opportunity to highlight the incredible work being done by our partners across the country to make art accessible, meaningful, and transformative for all,” said Anne Kraybill, CEO of Art Bridges. “Each of this year’s awardees has used Art Bridges’ support to tell a new story about American art, whether it be by uplifting underrepresented voices or reimagining the way we approach familiar works."

Spelman will be opening a new gallery space this fall, and the Bridgemaker Prize will help the museum to expand and stay open during the summer for the first time.

To learn more about the award recipients, visit artbridgesfoundation.org.