Edgar Calel Honored with $75,000 Sam Gilliam Award
6May 19, 2026
TheDia Art Foundationand theSam Gilliam Foundationhave announced Guatemala-based artist and poetEdgar Calelas the winner of the 2026Sam Gilliam Award. Calel will receive $75,000 and will be featured in a public program at one of Dia’s locations this fall.
Born in Chi Xot (San Juan Comalapa), Guatemala, in 1987, Calel is of Maya Kaqchikel heritage and frequently takes inspiration from ancestral traditions and from the cultural practices of his home country’s midwestern highlands. Additionally working across painting, drawing, sculpture, and performance, Calel is best known for his monumental installations reflecting Mayan cosmovision, and for work investigating themes of ownership and stewardship as they pertain to institutions. He was the subject of a solo exhibition at New York’s SculptureCenter in 2023, and participated in that year’s iterations of the Gwangju Biennale, the Liverpool Biennial, and the São Paulo Bienal.
Calel was chosen for the honor by a panel comprising Dia Foundation curators Jordan Carter and Matilde Guidelli-Guidi, Elvira Dyangani Ose, curator and artistic director of the Second Abu Dhabi Biennial; Gilliam Foundation president Annie Gawlak; Shanay Jhaveri, head of visual arts at London’s Barbican; and Clara Kim, chief curator and director of curatorial affairs at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. The group collectively lauded Calel for his “outstanding demonstration of a unique ability to work effectively and sensitively, often creating enveloping environments that incorporate a range of media while advocating for community and shared experiences.”
“I thank my ancestors for giving me life and allowing me to use their wisdom to create art,” said Calel in a statement. “I am very happy to receive this recognition, and it will help me continue exploring the world and its mysteries. Janila Matyox k’aslem—thank you so much, life, for everything.”
The Sam Gilliam Award was established in 2023 with funding from the Sam Gilliam Foundation and its president, Annie Gawlak, Gilliam’s widow, in honor of the late artist. Presented to an artist “residing anywhere in the world, who has made a significant contribution to any medium of art and for whom receiving the award would be transformative,” the prize will be awarded annually through 2033.