For Immediate Release
May 14, 2026
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CLARK ART INSTITUTE NAMES GEORGINA KLEEGE
AS RECIPIENT OF 2026 CLARK PRIZE
FOR EXCELLENCE IN WRITING

(Williamstown, Massachusetts)—The Clark Art Institute has selected Georgina Kleege as the recipient of the 2026 Clark Prize for Excellence in Arts Writing. Kleege is Professor Emerita of English at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught courses in creative writing, literature, and disability studies.

“The selection of Georgina Kleege for the Clark Prize reflects not only the intellectual rigor and originality of her work, but also its profound capacity to expand how we perceive and engage with art,” said Olivier Meslay, Hardymon Director of the Clark Art Institute. “Her writing challenges conventions, opening new pathways for understanding visual culture through a deeply thoughtful and inclusive perspective. We are honored to recognize her outstanding contribution to the field.”

“I am deeply honored to be selected for the Clark Prize. I hope that this recognition of my work will inspire arts institutions to think more creatively and courageously about the audiences they serve,” said Kleege.

An acclaimed essayist, cultural critic, and disability studies scholar, Kleege’s work has significantly influenced contemporary conversations about blindness and visual culture. Legally blind since childhood due to a form of macular degeneration, Kleege first gained widespread recognition with her memoir Sight Unseen (1999), a groundbreaking work that challenged conventional assumptions about blindness and reframed it as a complex, lived visual experience rather than simply an absence of sight.

Kleege is the author of several influential books, including Blind Rage: Letters to Helen Keller (2006), and More Than Meets the Eye: What Blindness Brings to Art (2018), which has been widely adopted in museum studies programs. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in major publications such as The New York Times, The Yale Review, and the Journal of Visual Culture. Kleege has contributed to exhibition texts and publications for leading museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Serpentine Gallery. She has been a prominent lecturer at educational institutions and cultural organizations, including Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, New York University, and The Tate Modern.

Through her writing, teaching, and public engagement, Kleege continues to advance more inclusive approaches to art, literature, and accessibility, helping to redefine how audiences understand perception and the visual world.

The members of the Clark Prize jury included Suzanne Hudson, professor of art history and fine arts at the University of Southern California; Asma Naeem, Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director at the Baltimore Museum of Art; Tina Rivers Ryan, art curator, critic, and editor, and former editor-in-chief of Artforum; Marc Gotlieb, Halvorsen Director of the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art; Esther Bell, the Clark’s Deputy Director and Robert and Martha Berman Lipp Chief Curator; Caroline Fowler, the Starr Director of the Clark’s Research and Academic Program; and Meslay.

An event honoring Kleege with the presentation of the Clark Prize will be held in autumn 2026.

ABOUT THE CLARK PRIZE
The Clark Prize is presented through the generosity of the Beinecke family through the Prospect Hill Foundation. It is accompanied by a $30,000 honorarium and an award designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando, the designer of two buildings on the Clark’s Williamstown campus.

The inaugural Clark Prize was awarded in 2006 to three individuals: Kobena Mercer, educator, writer and critic; Linda Nochlin, art historian and leader in feminist art history studies; and Calvin Tomkins, author and art critic for The New Yorker magazine. In 2008 Peter Schjeldahl, the esteemed art critic for The New Yorker magazine received the prize, followed by art critic and Princeton University professor Hal Foster in 2010; artist, writer, and critic Brian O’Doherty in 2012; poet and writer Eileen Myles in 2015; art historian and writer Darcy Grimaldo Grigsby in 2017; writers/curators Hilton Als (The New Yorker) and Helen Molesworth in 2022; and art historian and educator Bénédicte Savoy in 2024.

Members of the Clark Prize jury were chosen for their long-standing commitment to the arts and their expertise in the field. Jurors serve as both nominators and judges. Individuals engaged in all forms of arts writing, including criticism, commentary, monographs, catalogue essays, and biography, are eligible for nomination.

ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of nearly 300,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday from September through June, and daily in July and August. Admission is free to all from January through March. From April through December, admission is $22 for adults, $20 for seniors (65+), $10 for young adults (18–25) and college students, and free for all visitors under 18. Admission is free year-round for Clark members. Free admission is also available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and EBT Card to Culture. For information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

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