Futures Accelerator: Contemporary Art
In partnership with
How It Works
The Gold Art Prize winners were nominated by leading API curators from major US institutions, including Christopher Y. Lew (Whitney Museum), Christine Y. Kim (LACMA), Sohrab Mohebbi (Carnegie International). The Selection Committee included prominent members of the API community, including Prabal Gurung, Padma Lakshmi, and Geena Rocero.
Awardees will receive:
- $25,000 unrestricted cash prize
- Catalog highlighting the work and critical essays of each awardee
- On-going membership as a Gold House Future, including networking opportunities with other Futures across industry
2025
- 2025
- 2023
- 2021
Awardees
Morehshin Allahyari
Morehshin Allahyari (Persian: مورهشین اللهیاری), is a Bay Area based Iranian-Kurdish artist, using 3D simulation, video, sculpture, and digital fabrication as tools to re-figure myth and history. Through archival practices and storytelling, her work weaves together complex counternarratives in opposition to the lasting influence of Western technological colonialism in the context of MENA (Middle East and North Africa).
Morehshin has been part of numerous exhibitions, festivals, and workshops around the world including Venice Biennale di Architettura, New Museum, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Pompidou Center, MoMa, Victoria and Albert Museum, Queens Museum, and Museum of Modern Art, Taipei. She has been an artist in residence at Carnegie Mellon University’s STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, Autodesk Pier9 Workshop in San Francisco, the Vilém Flusser Residency Program for Artistic Research in association with Transmediale, Berlin, Eyebeam’s one year Research Residency, Pioneer Works, and Harvest Works. She has been featured in Art21, The New York Times, BBC, Huffington Post, Wired, National Public Radio, Parkett Art Magazine, and Al Jazeera, among others. Morehshin’s work has been the subject of critical analysis across books, academic articles, and dissertation chapters of over 100 publications.
She is the recipient of the Creative Capital Award (2025), The University of California, Berkeley Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (2024), The United States Artist Fellowship (2021), The Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant (2019), The Sundance Institute New Frontier International Fellowship (2019), and the Leading Global Thinkers of 2016 award by Foreign Policy magazine. Morehshin is an assistant professor of Digital Media Art at Stanford University.
Jacqueline Kiyomi Gork
For two decades, Jacqueline Kiyomi Gork has explored the intersections of sound, installation, performance, and sculpture, crafting a practice that reimagines sonic materiality. Their work frequently draws attention to the ways that the built environment shapes the experience of sound and awareness. Sometimes, they do this by deploying architectures of their own, utilizing vinyl sheeting, acoustic foam, felted blankets, and other kinds of sonically functional materials in structures that maximize particular sonic effects. Other times, these concepts are embedded within materially significant sculptures that warp the experience of sound in their vicinity. Kiyomi Gork’s early background in dance, choreography and experimental music continues to inform their work, in which the discrete roles of performer, audience, and stage fluidly blur and collapse. Feedback systems, the history of sound art and synthesized audio, deep listening and music composition—Kiyomi Gork draws these elements together into an expansive multimodal practice.
Jacqueline Kiyomi Gork (b. 1982, Long Beach, California) earned a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from Stanford University. They have presented solo exhibitions at the Harvard Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Cambridge; Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; François Ghebaly, New York; Empty Gallery, Hong Kong; 356 Mission Rd, Los Angeles; and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, among many others, and their recent group exhibitions include the Chicago Architecture Biennial; MOCA Tucson; Hammer Museum’s Made in L.A., Los Angeles; SculptureCenter, New York; SFMoMA, San Francisco; the Berkeley Art Museum; and VAC Foundation, Moscow. Kiyomi Gork is the recipient of awards from the VIA Art Foundation and the Joan Mitchell Foundation. Their works can be found in the permanent collections of the Walker Art Center; Hammer Museum; SFMoMA; K11 Foundation, Hong Kong; and Berkeley Museum of Art. Kiyomi Gork will be included in the 2025 Singapore Biennial.
Dan Lie
Dan Lie’s work demonstrates how abjection can be a tool of subversion and expansion. Their practice celebrates natural cycles of transformation and the many interdependent exchanges that structure ecosystems. A fundamental aspect of Dan Lie’s practice is their desire to develop works which de-center human agency and subjectivity.
Working in collaboration with forces they term “other-than-human beings,” such as bacteria, fungi, plants, animals, minerals, spirits, and ancestors, Lie creates site- and time-specific works that can be experienced through multisensory channels. By giving visibility to materials that morph, decay, and evolve, Lie’s ecosystems highlight the intimate yet expansive coexistences among diverse beings, acknowledging our shared and continuous participation in the processes of living, dying, and decomposing.
Dan is trans-nonbinary and is currently based in Berlin.
Kenneth Tam
Kenneth Tam (b. 1982, Queens; lives and works between Houston and Queens) received an MFA (2010) and a BFA from Cooper Union (2004). Tam is currently assistant professor at Rice University, Houston. Solo exhibitions have been held at Bridget Donahue, New York (2025); Tuft’s University Art Gallery, Medford (2024); Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (2023); Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles (2023, 2019, 2016); Ballroom Marfa (2022); Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson (2022); Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2021); Queens Museum (2021); Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (2021); The Kitchen, New York (2020); Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville (2020); Visual Arts Center, The University of Texas at Austin (2019); 18th Street Arts Center, Santa Monica (2018); Minneapolis Institute of Art (2018); and MIT List Center for Visual Arts, Cambridge (2017). Selected group exhibitions have been held at Blaffer Art Museum, Houston (2024); Kadist, San Francisco (2024); Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (2023); The Shed, New York (2021); SculptureCenter, Queens (2019); 47 Canal, New York (2018); Hollybush Gardens, London (2017); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2016); and Museum of Fine Arts Houston (2016). Tam is a recipient of Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists (2023), New York State Council on the Arts Grant (2023), New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Interdisciplinary Work (2021), Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant (2023, 2019, 2016), California Community Foundation Fellowship for Visual Artists (2015), and Art Matters Foundation Grant (2013). Tam has participated in residencies at 18th Street Arts Center, Santa Monica (2018); Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace, New York (2017); and Core Program, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (2015).
Tam’s work is in the collections of Akeroyd Collection; Cantor Arts Center, Stanford; Cc Foundation, Shanghai; Dallas Museum of Art; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Kadist Art Foundation; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Minneapolis Institute of Art; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and Tufts University Art Galleries, Medford.
Stella Zhong
Stella Zhong (b. 1993, Shenzhen, China) lives and works in New York, NY. She holds a BFA in Glass from Rhode Island School of Design and received her MFA from Yale University in 2021. Zhong has had solo exhibitions at Chapter NY, New York; Peninsula Art Space, Brooklyn; Weybosset Gallery, Providence; and Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen. Her work has been included at Mana Contemporary, Jersey City; HUA International, Beijing; M 2 3, New York; Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Brooklyn; Paris School of Art, Paris; and more. Her work has been reviewed on ArtAsiaPacific, Mousse Magazine, Texte zur Kunst, among others.
In 2022, Zhong has upcoming solo exhibitions at Fanta-MLN, Milan and Adams and Ollman, Portland, OR. Her work will also be included in group exhibitions at The Sculpture Center, Queens, NY; Galerie Marguo, Paris; and The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT.
Selection Committee
Aey Phanachet
Founder of 100 Tonson Foundation
Alex & Maia Shibutani
2x Olympians & 2x Olympic medalists
Alex & Maia Shibutani
2x Olympians & 2x Olympic medalists
Alex & Maia Shibutani are two-time Olympic medalist Ice Dancers. They have won fourteen consecutive medals in Ice Dance at the U.S. National Championships including two Senior National Championship titles. They are the first Ice Dancers of Asian-descent to win a Grand Prix; the first Ice Dancers of Asian-descent to win an ISU Championship and World Championship medals; the first figure skaters of Asian-descent to win medals at the Olympic Games in Ice Dance; and the first sibling ice dance team to win an Olympic medal since 1992.
In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?
Following the Olympic Games, we are most proud of the variety of work we have been able to accomplish. In addition to performing in the U.S. and Asia, we began work on creative and business projects in both fashion and entertainment. Simultaneously, we have continued to prioritize our self-imposed responsibility of using our platform as athletes with a global following. It is meaningful to us to support causes that we believe in by speaking directly with people from all generations and backgrounds. Over the last two years, we have served as U.S. Sports Envoys in South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. Being able to connect with students of varying ages and share the values and ideals we have learned throughout our career continues to be very fulfilling.
How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?
As we progressed through our careers, we gained an understanding early on that our ethnicity set us apart. That and the fact that we were a sibling team made us completely unique. While we were aware of outside perceptions and stereotypes, we always chose to focus more on ourselves. This mindset allowed us to break barriers - we were inspired to be more creative and to work harder.
Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?
From the very beginning, our parents provided us with unconditional love and support. They have always encouraged us to pursue our passions and chase our dreams knowing that we would be successful if we were happy and loved what we were doing. Throughout our skating career, our strong bond as siblings has been one of the biggest reasons for our success. We continue to push and support each other in order to accomplish both our mutual and individual dreams. We’re fortunate to have worked with some amazing coaches who have helped shape us as athletes and artists. We’re also grateful for the support that we’ve received throughout our career from our fans and the Olympic community who have cheered us on in some of the highest pressure situations we have faced.
Blake Abbie
Actor & Editor in Chief, A Magazine Curated By
Geena Rocero
Author, Producer, Director, and Trans Rights Advocate
Geena Rocero
Author, Producer, Director, and Trans Rights Advocate
Geena Rocero, born and raised in Manila, Philippines, is a four time Emmy Nominated and an Award Winning Producer, Writer and Director. She’s also a Model, Public Speaker, Trans Rights Advocate and co-host of the Webby Awards honoree TV Show ASPIREist, broadcasted on HLN/CNN. She is the 2023 recipient of The A1 Award in Gold House’s A100 List of the most impactful AAPI’s along with Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria and Vanity Fair’s Editor-in-Chief Radhika Jones.
Her upcoming memoir HORSE BARBIE will be released on May 30, 2023 by Penguin Random House imprint, The Dial Press. She recently directed and executive produced the 2022 EMMY and GLAAD Media Awards nominated, and 2022 Webby Awards Honoree, CARETAKERS, a four-part original documentary series with PBS/WNET featuring stories of Filipino American frontline healthcare workers that premiered on October 8, 2021.
She’s an advisory board member of SeeHer- the most influential global coalition of marketers, agencies, media companies and entertainment leaders working to increase the representation and accurate portrayal of all women and girls to transform society. She is one of “Top 25 Transgender Persons Who Influences Culture” by TIME Magazine.
She made history as the first trans woman Ambassador for Miss Universe Nepal, an honor that’s been bestowed to her as part of the Miss Universe Organization pageant system accepting trans women into the competition.
She made history as the First Trans woman 2020 Playboy Playmates of the Year. Her Playboy article is nominated for a 2020 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Magazine Article. In August 2019, she made history as the First trans Asian Playboy Playmate.
On March 31, 2014, she made history as the First trans person to speak about transgender issues at the iconic TED Conference main stage. In honor of International Transgender Day of Visibility, Rocero came out as transgender at the annual TED Conference, her viral talk has since been viewed close to 5 million times and translated in 32 languages. Geena is the founder of Gender Proud, a media production company that tells stories on what it means to be trans and gender non-conforming.
She, with Gender Proud Productions produced and presented “Beautiful As I Want to Be” series and TV special on LogoTV highlighting trans youth, and received the 2016 GLAAD Media Award. Gender Proud also produced “Willing and Able”, a 2017 GLAAD Media nominated web series about transgender employment with Fusion TV and worked with Fusion/Univision to produce a TV documentary about transgender athletes, “No League of Their Own” and won 2017 Association of LGBTQ Journalists Best in Health and Fitness Coverage.
She co-executive produced the 2018 GLAAD Media awards nominated “Made To Model” a documentary on 9 Pioneers and emerging trans model in collaboration with LogoTV, MTV and VH1.
Geena has spoken at the White House, World Economic Forum, United Nations, State Department, Fortune 500 Companies and been featured on E’s I am Cait, Magazine Cover of Candy Magazine, Vanity Fair: Trans America, Marriott’s #LoveTravels Campaign and CoverGirl Cosmetics #GirlsCan Campaign. She was on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar India.
On September 2018, published by Simon and Schuster, she contributed a chapter in the NY Times Bestseller book “American like Me” by actress America Ferrera with contributors like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjani and many others.
She’s a board member of NY LGBT Center. As the 2020 National Chair for Stonewall Day in June, she helped raised close to 100k for Black and Brown led LGBTQ organizations affected by COVID-19. She’s a partner on FamilyQ.Org, a queer led volunteer network distributor of FDA-approved surgical grade PPE’s to front-line organizations. To date, they’ve donated more than 100,000 masks.
She has been featured in media publications such as CNN, Al Jazeera America, MSNBC, Today Show, NHK World Channel, HuffPost Live, New York Magazine, Mashable, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, Elle, Entertainment Weekly, People, Variety, Take Part, The Advocate, MTV and others.
John Jay
President, Global Creative for Uniqlo/Fast Retailing
Miyoung Lee
Whitney Museum Trustee
Miyoung Lee
Whitney Museum Trustee
Contemporary art collector; Whitney Museum trustee; lives in NYC
Padma Lakshmi
Producer, Author, Host, and Entrepreneur
Padma Lakshmi
Producer, Author, Host, and Entrepreneur
Padma Lakshmi is an Emmy-nominated producer, television host, food expert, and a New York Times best-selling author and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People (2023).
She is the creator of the critically acclaimed and Emmy nominated Hulu series “Taste the Nation”, which is the recipient of a James Beard Foundation Award top prize in Visual Media – Long Form. Lakshmi served as host and executive producer for 19 seasons of Bravo’s two-time Emmy-winning series “Top Chef”, which has been nominated for 47 Emmys, including her five-time nomination for Outstanding Host for A Reality-Competition Program.
Lakshmi is co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America (EFA) and an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Artist Ambassador for immigrants’ rights and women’s rights. Lakshmi was also appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
She established herself as a food expert early in her career, hosting two successful cooking shows: “Padma’s Passport”, and “Planet Food” and writing the best-selling Easy Exotic, which won the Best First Book award at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Lakshmi followed this with the publication of her second cookbook, Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet and her memoir The New York Times best-selling Love, Loss and What We Ate. She later published The Encyclopedia of Spices & Herbs. In August of 2021 she published her first children’s book Tomatoes for Neela which was also a New York Times bestseller.
Additionally, Lakshmi is a visiting scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She has received the 2018 Karma Award from Variety, the 2016 NECO Ellis Island Medal of Honor, as well as a TIME Impact Award in 2023. Just when she thought her modeling days were behind her, she graced the pages of Sports Illustrated Magazine’s Swimsuit Edition in 2023.
Peter Kahng
Kahng Foundation; Co-Chair of Artist's Council at The Whitney Museum
Peter Kahng
Kahng Foundation; Co-Chair of Artist's Council at The Whitney Museum
Prabal Gurung
Founder, CEO & Creative Director, Prabal Gurung
Prabal Gurung
Founder, CEO & Creative Director, Prabal Gurung
Prabal Gurung launched his eponymous collection in February 2009 with a philosophy encompassing modern luxury, indelible style and an astute sense of glamour.
Gurung was born in Singapore and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal. After beginning his design career in New Delhi, he moved to New York to finish his studies at Parsons The New School for Design. Upon graduating, Gurung spent two years with Cynthia Rowley’s design and production teams. Soon after, he was appointed design director at the iconic Bill Blass, a post he held for five years until launching his own collection, PRABAL GURUNG.
A focus on quality and innovation has placed Gurung at the forefront of American fashion with designs worn by leading ladies including First Lady Michelle Obama and The Duchess of Cambridge, to name a few. Notable accolades include the 2010 Ecco Domani Fashion Fund Award, 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund runner up, USA Network’s Character Approved Award recipient in 2011, named goodwill ambassador of Maiti Nepal, a finalist of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award, recipient of the 2011 CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear and was honored in 2015 with the inaugural Creativity Award from The Drawing Center. Gurung was the official 2013 designer collaborator for Target, launched a product collaboration with MAC Cosmetics in 2014, collaborated on a collection with TOMS to support Shikshya Foundation Nepal in 2016, launched a capsule with Lane Bryant in February 2017 and was named the Global Creative Director of Tasaki in September 2017. In November 2019, Gurung was named the first ever Honorary Designer of the National Portrait Gallery Celebration at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, and published his first coffee table book.
Prabal Gurung chooses to manufacture in New York city to uphold standards of quality while supporting the local community. With over 80% of the collection made in New York, Prabal Gurung is committed to sustaining domestic employment and income. The brand recognizes the importance of domestic production, particularly in respect to the quality of the finished product and helps to bring this awareness to an international audience.