The artists Jennifer Packer and Marie Watt have been named the 2025 recipients of the 2025 Heinz Award for the Arts and will each receive a $250,000 cash prize.
The annual award was established in 1993 by the Pittsburgh-based Heinz Family Foundation and previous winners include filmmaker Cauleen Smith, interdisciplinary artist Gala Porras-Kim and ceramicist Roberto Lugo.
‘Jennifer’s work is at once infused with beauty and grief,’ said Heinz Family Foundation chair Teresa Heinz in a statement. ‘Her paintings bear witness to our unfolding history, compelling us to move beyond mere reflection to a place of changed understanding and respectful connection to her subjects and their stories’.
Watt is based in Portland and an enrolled citizen of the Seneca Nation of Indians. ‘We honor Marie for her thought-provoking work that graciously allows us entry to Indigenous traditions, culture and histories and to the application of that collective wisdom to contemporary life,’ said Heinz in a statement. ‘Marie’s art brings us joy, and her welcoming practice of engaging the community is a model and inspiration for creating lasting intergenerational connections.’
Both artists will attend a ceremony in Pittsburgh in October alongside Heinz Award winners in the ‘Economy’ and ‘Environment’ categories.
