SECA Art Award

The SECA Art Award is a contemporary art award program that has been organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and supported by its auxiliary SECA (Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art) since 1967 to honor San Francisco Bay Area artists. It includes an SFMOMA exhibition, an accompanying catalogue, and a modest cash prize. The SECA Art Award distinguishes “artists working independently at a high level of artistic maturity whose work has not, at the time of recommendation, received substantial recognition."

Currently, the SECA Art Award exhibition occurs biennially. Two SFMOMA assistant curators from the Department of Painting and Sculpture make the selection of finalists and award winners and co-organize the SECA Art Award exhibition.

The high-profile, ongoing exhibition series often provides artists with their first major exposure at a large institution. A number of past Art Award recipients and finalists are represented in SFMOMA's permanent collection and have been included in collection-based presentations.

SECA Profile

SECA (Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art) was founded in 1961 as an auxiliary of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The art interest group brings together collectors, curators, arts professionals, and artists through a variety of events that strengthen members' knowledge of contemporary art and appreciation of the local art community.

SECA Art Award History

• SECA began awarding prizes to individual Bay Area artists in 1967. Initially bestowed upon individuals, the awards evolved into awards combined with small group shows.
• Studio visits were introduced in 1981 as part of the art award selection process.
• Beginning in 1988, recommendations solicited from Bay Area art professionals and SECA members are introduced to the search process.
• In 1995, the evaluation process involving the selection of the finalists and the choice of award recipients was modified to include greater input from SFMOMA’s Department of Painting and Sculpture. The selection of award finalists and award recipients would be made by two SFMOMA curators rather than the SECA membership.
• A Film award was introduced in 1973 and was held irregularly until its last occurrence in 1998. A Photography award was added in 1976 and last held in 1982. A Video award was added in 1988 and was last held in 1992. An Electronic Media award was held once in 1996, and an Architecture and Design award was also held once in 2001.
• On the occasion of the Museum's 75th anniversary, The Anniversary Show exhibition dedicates the SECA and The Mission School gallery to artworks from the collection by a selection of past SECA winners (1996–2006).
• In 2010, the application language was modified to accept artworks in all media.
• On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of SECA in December 2011, SFMOMA published a comprehensive book on the history of the award program at SFMOMA Fifty Years of Bay Area Art: The SECA Awards.
• The 2012 SECA Art Award cycle coincided with SFMOMA's temporary building closure for expansion construction. For this unique offsite iteration of the award exhibition, SFMOMA commissioned all four recipients to create new work and to present it outside of the traditional gallery context. Encompassing a wide range of media, these diverse projects were installed in various non-art spaces of the artists’ choosing in San Francisco and Oakland.

List of SECA Art Award Winners

2012: Zarouhie Abdalian, Josh Faught, Jonn Herschend, David Wilson;

2010: Mauricio Ancalmo, Colter Jacobsen, Ruth Laskey, Kamau Amu Patton;

2008: Tauba Auerbach, Desiree Holman, Jordan Kantor, Trevor Paglen;

2006: Sarah Cain, Kota Ezawa, Amy Franceschini, Mitzi Pederson, Leslie Shows;

2004: Josephine Taylor, Shaun O’Dell, Simon Evans, and Rosana Castrillo Diaz;

2002: John Bankston, Andrea Higgins, Chris Johanson, and Will Rogan;

2000: Rachael Neubauer and Kathryn VanDyke;

1998: Chris Finley, Gay Outlaw, Laurie Reid, and Rigo 23 (Rigo 98);

1996: D-L Alvarez, Anne Appleby, and Barry McGee;

1994: Toi Hoang;

1992 – 25th Anniversary: Hung Liu, John Beech, and Maria Porges;

1990: Nayland Blake and John Meyer;

1988: Susan Marie Dopp;

1987: Anna Valentina Murch;

1986: Ev Thomas;

1985: Richard Overstreet and Rick Soss;

1984: Larry Thomas;

1983: Clay Jensen;

1981: Marc Katano, George Lawson, and Margaret Rinkovsky;

1980: Squeak Carnwath, Suzanne Hanson, and Seth Seiderman;

1978: Milton Komisar;

1977: David Best, Michael Cooper, Glenn Jampol, and Miklos Pogany;

1976: David Maclay;

1975: Cheryl Bowers (Ciel Bergman), Lucian Octavius Pompili, and Cornelia Schulz;

1974: Charles Garoian, Jerome Johnson, David Jones, Bryan Rogers, and Mary Snowden;

1973: David Anderson, Special Recognition: David Jones, Jim Pomeroy;

1971: Wayne E. Campbell;

1970: James Reineking;

1969: William Allan;

1968: Peter Zecher;

1967: Mel Henderson

List of other SECA Awards

2001 SECA Experimental Design Award exhibition: Thom Faulders, Donald Fortescue, and Post Tool Design

1998 9th SECA Award for Film screening: John Turk, Corey Ohama, David Sherman; and Jay Rosenblatt

1996 SECA Electronic Media Award exhibition: Carol Selter, Rebeca Bollinger, Paul DeMarinis, and Jim Campbell

1992 SECA Video Award: Barbara Hammer, Marlon Riggs, Jonathan Robinson, Ed Rudolph, and Michele Zaccheo

1988 SECA Video Invitational Award exhibition: Lawrence Andrews, Honorable Mentions: Paula Levine, Marek Pacholec, Alan Rath, and Lise Swenson

1990 8th SECA Film as Art Award screening: Sal Giammona Trinh T. Minh-ha, Michael Wallin; 1987 SECA Film Award screening: Susan Friedman and Ruby Yang; 1984 SECA Film Award exhibition: Michael Naimark, screening: Gunvor Nelson, Michael Rudnick, Michael Emery, and James Irwin.

1980 and 1982 SECA Photography Invitationals: The invitational was intended to promote contemporary photography. Emerging photographers from the western half of the United States, who had not received national recognition, were chosen. 1980: Gay Block, Jack Butler, Vida Freeman, Sally Gall, Victor Landweber, Thomas Neff, Jane O’Neal, Susan Rankaitis, Gail Skoff, Wolf von dem Bussche, and Steve Yates; 1982: John Bloom, Lynda Frese, Paul Klein, Douglas Muir, Michael Narcisco, Jeanne O’Connor, Art Rogers, Thom Sempere, Barbara Thompson, Bruce Van Meter, and Laura Volkerding

1980 SECA Film Award screening: Bruce Conner; 1978 SECA Film Award screening: Gregg Schiffner and Dennis Pies; 1975 SECA Film Award screening: James Broughton; 1974 SECA Film Awards screening: 1st Prize: Robert Bloomberg; 2nd Prize: Vincent Collins; 3rd Prize: Peter Hutton; 4th Prize: Larry Huston; Honorable Mentions: Suzanne Simpson, Jeffrey Hale and Derek Lamb; 1973 SECA Film Awards screening: 1st Prize: Ron Chase; Finalists: Jeffery Miller, Horst Leissl, and Robert Burill, Honorable Mentions: Frederick Fierstein and Amnon Igra, Larry Lansburgh, and Steve Klocksiem

1970-71 Vernal Equinox Special Award: The $1,000 award was intended to introduce conceptual art to the public and to underwrite experimental projects in any medium. It was merged with the SECA Grant Award in 1973. 1970: Bonnie Sherk and Howard Levine (Portable Parks I-III); 1971: Terry Fox 1972: Stephen Davis

External links and references

• SFMOMA SECA Art Award homepage
• SFMOMA Archives Finding Aid - SECA Records 1960-81
• SFMOMA Open Space blog 2008 interview
• SFMOMA Open Space blog - Rosana Castrillo Diaz and Janet Bishop
• SECA references, Regional Oral History Office

Selected Online Reviews

• Lutz, Leora, "SFAQ Review: SECA Awards." San Francisco Arts Quarterly, November [2] (accessed 12-20-2013)November 2013
• Frock, Christian L.,"Seeing SFMOMA's SECA Awards." KQED Arts. September 16, 2013. [3] (accessed 12-20-2013)
• Frock, Chrisian L., Report: San Francisco. Art Ltd. March/April 2012 [4] (accessed 05-01-2012)
• Baker, Kenneth, "Fifty Years of Bay Area Art: The SECA Awards review." SFGate, January 4, 2012 [5] (accessed 01-22-2012)
• Del Pesco, Joseph, "SFMOMA's SECA Awards Show: Trevor Paglen, Jordan Kantor, Tauba Auerbach, and Desiree Holman." Art in America, 2009 [6] (accessed 09-12-10
• Melendez, Franklin, "The Art Issue(s): The Young and Hungry Have Arrived", San Francisco Online[7] (accessed 09-12-2010)
• Miller, Rose; "Amy Franceschini's Victory in Gardening at SFMOMA", Worldchanging | San Francisco [8](accessed 09-12-2010)
• Nataraj, Nirmala, "SECA Award at the SFMOMA" SF Station (2005) (accessed 09-12-2010) [9]
• Spears, Lori, "New Sensation: SECA Art Award winner Simon Evans Keeps His Head" San Francisco Bay Guardian, January 2002 issue. [10]
• Scherr, Apollinaire, "Hide and SECA: SFMOMA seeks out local artists for a hit of exposure." Metropolitan, December 1998 issue. [11]

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