MOCA launches new environment and art prize

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tuesday announced the launch of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Environment and Art Prize, an award supporting and celebrating artists whose practices address the intersection of climate, conservation and sustainability.

Funded by the philanthropic couple who run the Schmidt Family Foundation, the prize will be awarded by MOCA to an artist every two years from 2024 until 2030, resulting in three prizes over six years. The honor awards a $100,000 unrestricted honorarium as well as resources and institutional support to complete a new project that will be commissioned and presented by MOCA.

The inaugural winner of the prize will be announced this fall, and the first artist's MOCA-commissioned project will be unveiled in spring 2026. Over each two-year award period, prize winners will collaborate with communities in Los Angeles and beyond.

"Eric and Wendy Schmidt, through their philanthropic initiatives, have long supported projects at the intersection of science, technology, and the arts," Johanna Burton, the Maurice Marciano Director of MOCA, said in a statement.

"MOCA is immensely grateful to them for their generous gift to establish this prize. MOCA has demonstrated our commitment to engaging with artists around critical environmental issues ... This new prize enables the museum to continue to forefront the work of artists who are creating dialogue and visibility around issues of climate, conservation, and sustainability."

This summer a committee of 15 to 20 representatives from diverse fields -- ranging from art and architecture to conservation and ecology to design and community organizing -- will nominate artists from a broad range of disciplines to be considered for the inaugural prize. Nominated artists will then have four weeks to create and submit proposals.

MOCA's Environmental Council, considered the first such body convened by a major U.S. art museum, will advise MOCA in the administration and execution of the prize. A five-person jury will select the winners.

The final artwork will be presented at MOCA and may be an exhibition, performance, artist book, public program, or other project to be determined in collaboration with the winner. The winner will also select an advisor with experience in environmental justice, climate science, or sustainable practice to serve as a key collaborator in the conception, contextualization, and realization of the project.

Eric Schmidt led Google as chief executive for a decade and as executive chairman for four years. He also served as executive chairman of Alphabet for three years and as technical advisor. A journalist early in her career, Wendy Schmidt also worked in marketing communications in Silicon Valley and since 2006 has led the couple's philanthropy as president of the Schmidt Family Foundation and Schmidt Ocean Institute.

"Science and technology help us explain the world, while art and community give us understanding and belonging," said Wendy Schmidt, president and co-founder of the Schmidt Family Foundation and Schmidt Ocean Institute. "We are delighted to establish this prize with MOCA because, as we've seen across our philanthropy, connecting scientists, artists and communities appears to reveal essential truths about people and our planet."