Sophia Al-Maria receives inaugural Dunya Contemporary Art Prize from Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Qatari-American artist Sophia Al-Maria has been named the first recipient of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago's newly established Dunya Contemporary Art Prize. The biennial award, created to support mid-career artists from the Middle East and its diaspora, comes with $100,000 and a commission for a new work that will be featured in a major exhibition at the MCA. An international jury including Dr. Omar Kholeif, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Antonia Carver, Clare Davies, and Michael Darling selected Al-Maria for the honor. The prize aims to highlight artists whose practice demonstrates rigor, challenge, and unconventional approaches, with recipients being presented as part of the museum's Ascendant Artist series. Financial backing for the initiative comes from both the MCA and the Shulamit Nazarian Foundation. This marks the launch of a significant new award focused specifically on contemporary artists from the Middle Eastern region and its global diaspora communities.