Eric and Wendy Schmidt Environment and Art Prize

Inaugural Winners

On October 30, 2024, MOCA announced that the inaugural Eric and Wendy Schmidt Environment and Art Prize was awarded to 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).

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. Charrière and Vicuña will each receive the full honorarium and present their commissioned works at MOCA in 2026, marking a significant milestone in MOCA’s commitment to environmental conversations through contemporary art.

Upcoming Presentation

Julian 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. Julian Charrière will be on view at MOCA Grand Avenue, November 15 – June 2, 2026.

Cecilia 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. Quipu of Encounters: The Dream of Water will be on view at MOCA Grand Avenue, November 15 – June 2, 2026.

Selection Process

Following nominations by a committee of twenty four representatives from diverse fields, a five-person jury selected the winners of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Environment and Art Prize. Inaugural jury members for 2024 were: Johanna Burton, previous Maurice Marciano Director of MOCA; Maria Seferian, President, Hillspire; Dan Hammer, Managing Partner at Ode, Co-founder at Clay, and Advisor to the MOCA Environmental Council; John Kenneth Paranada, Curator of Art and Climate Change, Sainsbury Center; and Carson Chan, Director of the Emilio Ambasz Institute for the Joint Study of the Built and the Natural Environment, MoMA. MOCA’s Environmental Council–the first such body convened by a major US art museum–advises MOCA in the administration and execution of the prize.