Anonymous Was A Woman is an unrestricted grant of $50,000 awarded each year to 15 woman, gender non-conforming, and trans artists over the age of 40 and at a critical junction in their career. The name of the grant program refers to a line in Virginia Woolf’s "A Room of One’s Own." The award was begun in 1996 in response to the decision of the National Endowment of the Arts to cease support of individual artists. To date, Anonymous was a Woman has awarded over $10 million to more than 400 artists.
Two of the 2026 awards were made possible by Fotene Demoulas, a Boston-based philanthropist who is a collector and patron of women artists, and who values AWAW’s work. Another anonymous donor also contributed funds toward an additional award.
Above are images of the 2026 Recipients of the Award. More information here.
AWAW has also launched the second edition of Artists Speak, its major survey of women, trans, and non-binary visual artists, in partnership with SMU DataArts and journalist Charlotte Burns. Building on the first survey, which gathered responses from more than 1,200 artists in 2024, the new research will examine what has changed—and what has not—while addressing emerging challenges including artificial intelligence, changes in policy and funding, and the conditions artists need to sustain their practices.
The Artists Speak survey is open to artists of all ages through January 3, 2027. AWAW will also host a webinar about Artists Speak on November 18 at 12 p.m. ET to introduce the research and explain how artists can participate. The findings will inform a new report and digital resource guide, scheduled for fall 2027.
Started in 2022, the Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Art Grant provides up to $20,000 for projects led by women-identifying artists in the United States and U.S. Territories.The Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Art Grants (AWAW EAG) program, administered by NYFA, will distribute a total of $250,000 in funding to support environmental art projects led by women-identifying artists in the United States and U.S. Territories.
Please visit NYFA’s dedicated site for more information and application instructions. Any questions about the AWAW EAG should be sent directly to NYFA at: awaw@nyfa.org