A new cultural barometer
Art Basel’s Swiss edition will mark a historic milestone this year: the first public manifestation of the inaugural Art Basel Awards, presented in partnership with BOSS. Rather than singling out specific achievements, the Art Basel Awards are conceived as a celebration of the entire art ecosystem – and of those who bridge the art world and the cultural world at large: from artists and curators to designers, institutions, patrons, and behind-the-scenes allies.
An international jury of leading museum directors, including Kunstmuseum Basel’s Elena Filipovic, Museu de Arte de São Paulo’s Adriano Pedrosa, and Philip Tinari from UCCA Beijing, selected a first cohort of 36 Medalists across nine categories. The Medalists will be honored on June 19 during a ceremony at Basel’s historic town hall, followed by a reception at Kunstmuseum Basel. Medalists and jury members will then speak at the inaugural Art Basel Awards Summit, which is free and open to the public, and will be held on June 20.
Who is on the inaugural list?
The 2025 Medalists are grouped into nine categories that reflect visual culture in the widest sense.
Artists are at its heart. In the Icon Artist category, visionaries such as David Hammons, Adrian Piper, and Betye Saar are honored for their trailblazing contributions that continue to inspire other generations. The Established Artist category includes Cao Fei, whose prescient practice tackles the digital in everyday life, and Ibrahim Mahama, who aside from his monumental sculptural work, nurtures new talent in two artist-run spaces in Tamale, Ghana. Rising stars such as the performer Pan Daijing and filmmaker Saodat Ismailova are spotlighted in the Emerging Artist category, their practices offering a glimpse of the contours of the art of tomorrow.
The Art Basel Awards are not limited to artists. The Cross-Disciplinary Creator list includes Italian design duo Formafantasma and London-based fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner, both recognized for pushing the boundaries in their respective fields. Institutions such as RAW Material Company in Dakar and Art + Practice in Los Angeles receive medals for community-rooted programming. The other categories include Curator, Media and Storyteller, Patron, and Allies, expanding the definition of what makes up today’s art world.
Consult the full list here.
Spotlight on the Summit
A key moment for the Art Basel Awards is the inaugural Art Basel Summit, which will take place on June 20 in Art Basel’s newly redesigned Auditorium in Hall 1. This full-day public conference will bring together some of the most exciting thinkers from the art industry and beyond. Together, they’ll offer a unique opportunity to reflect on the state of culture today and where it’s headed.
Panels will include Chilean artist, poet, and activist Cecilia Vicuña in conversation with Kunstmuseum Basel director Elena Filipovic; a roundtable led by M+ director Suhanya Raffel examining the role of institution and dedicated to the memory of the late Koyo Kouoh, the former Chief Curator of Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, founder of RAW Material Company in Dakar, and curator of the Venice Biennale 2026. Other highlights include a fireside chat on patronage with Joel Wachs, the President of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and a discussion between maverick design duo Formafantasma and Philip Tinari.
With its dynamic formats and the confirmed participation of 20 Medalists and jurors, the Art Basel Awards Summit aspires to be a seedbed for change. It is supported by the Canton of Basel-Stadt, which recognizes the potential for placing the city not just at the center of the art market, but at the forefront of global cultural dialogue.
The Art Basel Awards Summit is a must for any Art Basel visitor this year. Explore the full program and reserve your free seat here.
What’s next?
Later this year, the 36 Medalists will participate in a peer-driven process to select up to 12 Gold Medalists – half of them artists. With a focus on artist recipients in the first year, Gold Medalists in the Emerging Artist category will receive an unrestricted honorarium of USD 50,000; Gold Medalists in the Established Artist category will also be awarded an honorarium of USD 50,000, alongside a large-scale public commission to debut during Art Basel in Basel in June 2026; and for Gold Medalists in the Icon Artist category, a donation of USD 50,000 will be made by Art Basel to an organization of the Medalists’ choosing, gifted in their name.
The Gold Medalists will be announced during the Official Night of the Art Basel Awards in Miami Beach this December, during Art Basel’s US edition, in a landmark celebration designed to reflect Miami’s status as a global cultural hub.
The Art Basel Awards are presented in partnership with BOSS.