The Pollock-Krasner Foundation has awarded the Pollock Prize for Creativity to the California-based artist Todd Williamson. The $50,000 prize will support Williamson’s exhibition “Processional,” a solo installation that will be on view at the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Pietà, located between St. Mark’s Square and the entrance to the Arsenale in Venice, during the Fifty-Eighth Venice Biennale, which runs from May 9 to November 24, 2019.

In partnership with the MAK Center for Art and Architecture and curated by MAK executive director Priscilla Fraser, “Processional” will feature eight large-scale canvases that will be displayed on the walls of the eighteenth-century church’s narrow chapel. The exhibition will explore contemporary influencers and thought leaders such as Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, and Nelson Mandela and will include a sound room in the entry vestibule that will play music created in collaboration with Greg Walter, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

“Todd Williamson is a gifted artist who, with curator Priscilla Fraser, has created an innovative installation,” said Ronald D. Spencer, chairman and CEO of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. “The Venice Biennale provides a wonderful platform for Todd to show his work on an international stage. We are delighted to help support his exhibition, because fostering new work and the development of visual artists is central to the foundation’s mission.”

The annual Pollock Prize for Creativity, created to honor the artistic legacies of Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock, is given to an artist whose work embodies high creative standards and has a substantial impact on individuals and society. Previous winners of the prize include Amy Sherald and Gideon Mendel.