Morehshin Allahyari and Miguel Novelo Receive 2026 San Francisco Bay Area Artadia Awards
Assistant professor of art practice Morehshin Allahyari and Miguel Novelo, MFA '22, lecturer in art practice, have been named recipients of the 2026 San Francisco Bay Area Artadia Awards, joining artist Maya Fuji as this year's awardees.
Presented annually by Artadia, a national nonprofit grantmaking organization that supports contemporary visual artists, the unrestricted awards recognize artists with outstanding artistic merit and significant contributions to the field. Allahyari and Novelo were selected through a competitive process from a pool of 456 applicants representing artists working across nine Bay Area counties.
The awards were determined through a rigorous two-round jury process led by independent curators and museum professionals. Jurors praised both artists for the originality and impact of their practices.
Of Allahyari's work, juror Amara Antilla described her research-driven practice as one that "meditates on the complex, often extractive histories of museum collecting practices" while drawing on speculative storytelling and emerging technologies to recover narratives that have historically been marginalized. Juror Trisha Lagaso Goldberg, independent curator and director of programming and engagement at the Anderson Collection, added that Allahyari's work reaches into Iranian cultural history "with a clarion, unbashful voice," creating new possibilities through contemporary artistic practice.
Reflecting on Novelo's work, Antilla noted his use of found materials—from rocks to electronic waste—to create interactive experiences that embody what he calls "techno-shamanism," inviting viewers to question the role of technology in contemporary life. Goldberg praised Novelo's playful yet direct use of technology, noting that his work asks big questions while leading to "big, strange results."
Founded in 1999, Artadia has awarded more than $6 million in unrestricted funding to over 400 artists nationwide. The organization supports artists in seven major U.S. cities through annual awards that recognize innovation, artistic excellence, and creative impact.
The department also recognizes Mark Baugh-Sasaki, MFA '17, who was selected as one of six finalists for the 2026 San Francisco Bay Area Artadia Awards.
