2016 New York NADA Artadia Awardee Announced

Artadia and New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) are delighted to announce Summer Wheat as the recipient of the 2016 NADA Artadia Award, a $5,000 unrestricted, merit-based Award granted to one artist exhibiting at the fair. Wheat's work is exhibited at Fridman Gallery, booth 3.01 at NADA New York. A jury comprised of two renowned curators, Ian Alteveer, Associate Curator, Department of Modern and Contemporary Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Amanda Hunt, Assistant Curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem, selected Summer Wheat. This is the seventh time NADA and Artadia have partnered to present the Award.

Alteever and Hunt stated, "Selecting the 2016 NADA Artadia Awardee has been a great experience that made us look at the fair with a different purpose. We were intrigued by Summer Wheat's process and use of material, pushing the boundaries of acrylic paint to create works that are compelling and visceral, and are thrilled that the Award goes directly to the artist in Artadia's great tradition."

The NADA Artadia Award acknowledges innovative voices working in contemporary art today. This unique collaboration highlights the ways in which nonprofit organizations and art fairs can come together to celebrate artistic excellence. Through its partnership with NADA, Artadia extends the reach of its Awards program nationally, and the curator-driven selection process, integral to all Artadia Awards, provides exhibiting artists exposure to influential professionals in the field. Wheat will have access to the lifetime of benefits of the Artadia Awards program, including participation in the Art & Dialogue series, exhibition opportunities, studio visits with curators and collectors, a profile page on the Artadia Artist Registry, and access to ongoing professional services.

Summer Wheat was born in 1977 in Oklahoma City, OK. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Her recent exhibitions include: Institute of Contemporary Art Boston (Boston, MA); deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park (Lincoln, MA); The Torrance Art Museum (Torrance, CA); Cress Gallery of Art (Chattanooga, TN), and Samson (Boston, MA).

About Artadia:

Artadia is a national nonprofit organization that supports visual artists with unrestricted, curator-driven Awards and a lifetime of professional opportunities. Since 1999, Artadia has provided over $3 million to more than 300 artists in participating cities of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.

About NADA:

The New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) is the definitive non-profit arts organization dedicated to the cultivation, support, and advancement of new voices in contemporary art.