Lorna Simpson, “To My Best Friend,” 2013. Found photographs, gold embossed drawings and bronze. 122 individual elements, dimensions variable. Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. Promised gift of Fotene Demoulas and Tom Coté.

For more than 40 years, artist Lorna Simpson has pushed the boundaries and possibilities of the photographic medium, exploring themes of race, gender and unconscious bias in American society. Those decades of dedication are being rewarded: in December, the ICA Boston announced Simpson as the 2026 recipient of the Meraki Artist Award.

The annual Meraki Artist Award, funded by Fotene Demoulas of the Market Basket Demoulas family, recognizes artistic achievements of women in particular. Simpson will be presented the $100,000 award at the ICA’s annual Women’s Luncheon in April.

“I am incredibly grateful to be recognized as the next Meraki Artist Award recipient,” said Simpson. “It is an honor to receive an award that celebrates the creativity and care of today’s artists.”

Simpson’s piece “To My Best Friend,” will be displayed in a group exhibition of the same name opening Jan. 23. Her installation is made up of more than 100 found objects, including 85 photobooth images. Hung en masse on the wall, the installation evokes a warm feeling, like a gallery wall of friends and family in a living room.

The artist came into her own in the 1980s and 1990s while working on mixed media pieces that paired arresting images with thought provoking pieces of text. In 1990 she was one of the first African American women artists to show at the Venice Biennale. As her career has progressed, Simpson has continued experimenting with different media, bringing painting, film, drawing, audio and sculpture into her practice.

The larger exhibition includes 17 contemporary women artists spanning a spectrum of themes, styles and generations. Among them are Olga de Amaral, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Mickalene Thomas and Rose B. Simpson. Sarah Sze, a Boston-born artist who won the inaugural Meraki Artist Award in 2025, will also be included.

Nora Burnett Abrams, the Ellen Matilda Poss Director at the ICA, says this exhibition is a demonstration of an ongoing effort to support a diverse spectrum of artists. According to the ICA, 60% of its permanent collection is composed of female artists and 40% is composed of artists who identify as BIPOC.

“It is a joy to celebrate the work and practice of one of the most resonant and inspiring artists working today, Lorna Simpson, who embodies the spirit of the Meraki Artist Award and its celebration of artists who illuminate new ways of seeing the world,” said Abrams. “We are so excited to celebrate Lorna’s powerful and thought-provoking practice and her vision, at once rigorous, lyrical and deeply human.”

ON THE WEB

Learn more at icaboston.org/articles/to-my-best-friend-new-collection-show