CECILIA VICUÑA & JULIAN CHARRIÈRE: INAUGURAL ERIC AND WENDY SCHMIDT ENVIRONMENT AND ART PRIZE
The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) announced two winners of the inaugural Eric and Wendy Schmidt Environment and Art Prize: Julian Charrière (b. 1987 in Morges, Switzerland; lives and works in Berlin, Germany) and Cecilia Vicuña (b. 1948 in Santiago, Chile; lives and works in New York, NY and Santiago, Chile). Each artist will receive 100,000 USD and institutional support from MOCA to develop a commissioned project addressing the critical intersections of art, climate change, and environmental justice.
Established earlier this year by philanthropists Eric and Wendy Schmidt, the prize is awarded biennially to artists whose work foregrounds pressing environmental concerns and engages communities in thought-provoking, creative solutions.
Charrière and Vicuña were selected by a distinguished five-person jury. Originally intended to be awarded to one artist, after intense deliberations, the jury selected both Charrière and Vicuña for their unique yet complementary approaches to addressing environmental issues through art. Eric and Wendy Schmidt generously decided to fund two prizes so both artists would receive the total unrestricted honorarium. Charrière and Vicuña will present their commissioned works at MOCA in 2026, marking a significant milestone in MOCA’s commitment to environmental conversations through contemporary art.
Vicuña, whose work spans six decades, is known for her large-scale installations, performances, and poetry. Her work readapts ancient Indigenous Andean systems of knowledge, such as the quipu, a pre-Columbian form of communication using knotted cords, to activate the contemporary collective consciousness. Her MOCA commission will take the form of a “Quipu of Encounters,” the latest in a series of collective actions that she has created with communities around the world since the 1960s. Centering on the prompt “to dream the return of water,” it will facilitate the exchange of ideas, poetry, and political strategy between communities fighting for the sacred public rights of water and communities in Chile and those in the broader Los Angeles region.
Charrière has gained international acclaim for his interdisciplinary practice that spans film, photography, and sculpture. His work often stems from field research in remote locations such as glaciers, volcanoes, and radioactive sites, where he explores humanity’s evolving relationship with nature. His forthcoming MOCA project will delve deeper into the fragility and resilience of planetary water systems, creating an immersive installation that bridges art and science. The project will engage the public through interactive elements, inviting audiences to reflect on the urgent realities of climate change and environmental degradation while meditating on nature’s powerful, raw beauty.
*Image credit: Julian Charriere by Nora Heinisch, © Julian Charrière; and Cecilia Vicuña, courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin. © Cecilia Vicuña
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