Vilcek Foundation
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Vilcek Foundation

The Vilcek Foundation is an American nonprofit organization. The foundation's programs include the Vilcek Foundation Prizes.

The Foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the Foundation was inspired by the couple's respective careers in biomedical science and art history, as well as their appreciation for the opportunities offered to them as newcomers to the United States.

The Vilcek Prizes are awarded to foreign-born permanent residents of the United States, with significant accomplishments in the arts and sciences. The Foundation awards two Vilcek Prizes annually, one in biomedical science and the other in the arts and humanities. Each prize consists of a $100,000 cash award and a commemorative sculpture designed by Austrian-born graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister.

The Vilcek Prize for Excellence, introduced in 2019, recognizes immigrants who have profoundly impacted American society and world culture or individuals who champion immigrant causes. The recipients receive a $100,000 cash award and a commemorative diploma designed by the &Walsh agency.

The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise are awarded to foreign-born individuals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement during the early stages of their careers. The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise are awarded each year in the field of biomedical science and a selected art field. Creative Promise applicants are required to submit essays, personal statements, and examples of their work. To be eligible for the prize, applicants must have been born abroad, reside permanently in the United States, and be within the specified age limit. As of 2013, three prizes each were to be awarded in biomedical science and a designated art field. Each recipient is awarded a $50,000 cash prize and a commemorative plaque.

In 2024, the Vilcek Foundation announced a new prize, The Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History. The prize is named for the Foundation's co-founder Marica Vilcek's career in art history. The prize is awarded to foreign-born art history and museum professionals whose work has had a profound impact on their institutions, and on their field or area of scholarship and curatorial work more broadly. In its inaugural presentation in 2024, three prizes of $100,000 each were awarded to Monika Bincsik, Pierre Terjanian, and Wolfram Koeppe.

The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Curatorial Work recognize immigrant professionals whose work has a profound impact in their field, and on arts and culture more broadly.

In 2019, the Vilcek Foundation partnered with the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to create a joint award, the Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare. The award is given to a foreign-born individual in the United States who has demonstrated an extraordinary impact on humanism in healthcare through their professional achievements.

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