Above: Jason Moran. All images courtesy of The Gordon Parks Foundation.
Honouring the photographer’s legacy two decades on, a year-long programme of exhibitions, publications and events has been announced, alongside its 2026 fellows, legacy acquisition recipients and the inaugural Fellowship in Music
The Gordon Parks Foundation is marking its 20th anniversary with a year-long programme of exhibitions, publications, fellowships and public events that underscore the enduring relevance of Gordon Parks’ vision and the Foundation’s evolving role in supporting artists working at the intersection of art and social justice.
Founded in 2006 by Gordon Parks and his longtime friend and Life magazine editor Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr., the Foundation was established to steward Parks’ multifaceted legacy as a photographer, filmmaker, writer and musician, while providing support to current and future generations of artists. Two decades on, the organisation has expanded into an interdisciplinary platform that reflects Parks’ own belief in art as a catalyst for social change.
Central to the anniversary year is the announcement of the Foundation’s 2026 fellows, Legacy Acquisition Fund recipients and Book Prize winner, alongside the introduction of a new fellowship in music – an addition that reflects Parks’ lifelong engagement with sound and composition.
The 2026 Gordon Parks Foundation Fellows in Art are Sanford Biggers and Amanda Williams. Leigh Raiford, Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, has been named the 2026 Genevieve Young Fellow in Writing, while jazz pianist, composer and performance artist Jason Moran is the inaugural recipient of the Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship in Music.
“For Gordon Parks, art was never singular,” said Peter W. Kunhardt, Jr., Executive Director of The Gordon Parks Foundation. “Across writing, photography, painting and now music, he understood creative practice as one of the most powerful tools for shaping how we see the world. Our 2026 fellows extend this legacy.”
Since 2017, the Foundation has awarded annual fellowships to artists working across a range of fields and mediums, supporting new or ongoing projects that explore themes of representation and social justice. Fellows participate in Foundation initiatives throughout the year, culminating in a solo exhibition at The Gordon Parks Foundation Gallery in Pleasantville, New York. The Foundation also acquires work by the art fellows for its permanent collection.
The newly established Fellowship in Music pays tribute to the significance of music in Parks’ own artistic life. Before becoming one of the most influential photographers of the twentieth century, Parks worked as a pianist and composer, teaching himself to play by ear and touring with jazz bands. Music remained a constant throughout his career, informing his approach to rhythm, narrative and collaboration. Jason Moran’s appointment expands the Foundation’s interdisciplinary mission while honouring this foundational aspect of Parks’ practice.
Alongside the fellowships, the Gordon Parks Foundation Legacy Acquisition Fund, launched in 2025, will support photographers Darryl Cowherd and Louis Mendes through the acquisition of significant works for the Foundation’s collection. Both artists knew Parks personally, and their work occupies an important place in the history of twentieth-century photography, further contextualising Parks’ artistic networks and influence.
The 2026 Gordon Parks Foundation / Steidl Book Prize has been awarded to photographer Andre D. Wagner for Andre D. Wagner: New City, Old Blues, a forthcoming Steidl publication featuring previously unpublished work made between 2014 and 2024, with an essay by writer Hanif Abdurraqib. A former Gordon Parks Foundation Art Fellow, Wagner’s practice aligns with the lineage of street photography that examines the American social landscape through themes of race, class and social identity.
These announcements form part of a robust anniversary programme that includes exhibitions at the Foundation’s gallery in Pleasantville as well as museum and gallery presentations in the United States, Europe and Latin America, including a show curated by photographer Dawoud Bey. New publications, including an expanded edition of Gordon Parks: Diary of a Harlem Family, 1967/1968, will further reassess and deepen understanding of Parks’ work.
The anniversary year will culminate in the Foundation’s Annual Awards Dinner & Auction on May 19 at Cipriani 42nd Street, bringing together figures from across art, music, film and philanthropy in support of the Foundation’s educational programmes, fellowships and scholarships.