Last month, Brooklyn’s BRIC announced that it had established a new prize that aims to support underrecognized New York–based visual artists. On Wednesday, it announced the inaugural winners of the prize: Manuel Acevedo​, Nicole Awai, Xenobia Bailey​, Nona Faustine​, Alicia Grullón, Baseera Khan​, Heidi Lau​, Christopher Myers, Judith Simonian​, and Kennedy Yanko​. Each recipient will be awarded $10,000.

Underwritten by artist and ​BRIC board member Deborah Brown ​in memory of her late mother, Colene Brown, the Colene Brown Art Prize is funded through the Harold and Colene Brown Family Foundation. The 2019 winners were chosen from a pool of fifty artists who were nominated by a cohort of curators, critics, and fellow creatives who live in the city. A selection committee comprising BRIC staffers selected the final ten awardees.

“The Colene Brown Art Prize recipients reflect the diversity of the BRIC community. A wide range of age and origin, we proudly recognize this interdisciplinary group of artists and their important contributions to culture,” said BRIC president ​Kristina Newman Scott. “We are grateful to our board member Deborah Brown for her generosity and deep understanding of the needs of artists working today.”