Kay WalkingStick and Trisha Baga Among 2026 Anonymous Was A Woman Winners

Anonymous Was A Woman, the New York–based grant program, has named 15 winners of its 2026 awards, each receiving an unrestricted $50,000. The cohort spans painters, video artists, sculptors, textile makers and a choreographer — and stretches from a recipient born in 1935 to one born in 1985.

Kay WalkingStick, born in 1935, is this year's oldest winner. Her paintings examine the American landscape from the point of view of Indigenous people. Trisha Baga, born in 1985 and based in Queens, is the youngest; her video installations probe the relationship between the physical and digital worlds.

Who else won?

The 2026 roster includes Beatriz Cortez, whose sculptures engage speculative futures and multiple temporalities, and Elisabeth Kley, known for ceramic installations featuring geometric and plant motifs. Candace Hill-Montgomery, whose experimental practice since the 1970s has, per a release, synthesized "her experience of post-war segregation in New York and the revolutionary activism of the time," recently appeared in MoMA PS1's Greater New York quinquennial.

The full list of recipients:

• Laylah Ali (b. 1968, Buffalo, New York; based in western Massachusetts)
• Trisha Baga (b. 1985, Venice, Florida; based in Queens, New York)
• nora chipaumire (b. 1965, Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe; based in New York)
• Beatriz Cortez (b. 1970, San Salvador, El Salvador; based in Los Angeles and Davis, California)
• Ellie Ga (b. 1976, New York; based in Lisbon)
• Andrea Geyer (b. 1971, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany; based in New York)
• Candace Hill-Montgomery (b. 1945, New York; based in Bridgehampton, New York)
• Elisabeth Kley (b. 1956, New York; based in New York)
• Laura Parnes (b. 1968, Buffalo, New York; based in New York)
• Marsha Pels (b. 1950, Brooklyn; based in Brooklyn)
• Elaine Reichek (b. 1943, Brooklyn; based in New York)
• Katherine Sherwood (b. 1952, New Orleans, LA; based in San Francisco Bay Area)
• Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos, b. 1976, Springfield, Oregon; based in Portland, Oregon)
• Rea Tajiri (b. 1958, Chicago, IL; based in Philadelphia)
• Kay WalkingStick (b. 1935, Syracuse, NY; based in Pennsylvania)

What does the money actually change?

The awards target mid-career women, trans and nonbinary artists "at a significant junction in their lives or careers to continue to grow and pursue their work," according to a release. The winners' own accounts show how far $50,000 stretches right now — and why.

"I was literally calculating the astronomical cost of hard drives to back up my digital archive when I received the call," Baga told ARTnews in an email. "Hard drive prices these days are insane because of AI data centers driving up the demand, and I am a video artist with about 80 terabytes of very important, very tenuously stored video files I've gathered and metabolized over the past 20 years."

Textile artist Elaine Reichek pointed to tariffs and supply chain difficulties. "The amount is significant enough to make a real difference in my day-to-day practice," she said. "I'm truly grateful to be able to afford the cost of my materials... A burden has been lifted!"

Baga said she will also use the funds for her "recently revived 3D video installation practice, providing an income so I can focus on the several institutional shows I have scheduled this year."

Choreographer nora chipaumire framed the grant as recognition. "This award comes at the end of a long year, a year of big works with very limited resources," she told ARTnews. "Receiving this individual award validates my life in the arts. It means recognition of an artist who wants to continue to shift frames and push over the edges. This award says to me: people matter. Massive joy and gratitude."

A second Artists Speaks Survey

Alongside the awards, Anonymous Was A Woman announced the second edition of its Artists Speaks Survey, run with SMU DataArts and journalist Charlotte Burns. The 2024 edition collected responses from roughly 1,200 artists. The new edition seeks to "examine what has changed — and what has not — while addressing emerging challenges including artificial intelligence, changes in policy and funding, and the conditions artists need to sustain their practices." It is open to women, trans, and nonbinary artists of any age, with responses accepted until January 3.

Since 1996, the AWAW awards have disbursed more than $10 million to over 400 artists. Last year's winners included Candida Alvarez, Park McArthur, and Lola Flash.

"At a time when artists face mounting uncertainty within a fast-changing world, the need for direct, unrestricted support is as urgent as ever," AWAW founder Susan Unterberg said in a statement. "The artists that we recognize this year are extraordinary. The range, ambition, and originality of their work is a reminder of just how vital artists are for our world."