Just when the local scene could most use it, we’ve got some good news: The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has named the 16 finalists for the 2026 SECA Art Award.
This year’s SECA curators, Assistant Curator of Painting and Sculpture Alison Guh and Assistant Curator of Photography Delphine Sims, along with members of the Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art (a donor group at the museum), will conduct studio visits with each of the finalists over the next few months.
Winners of the award will be announced in April, with an exhibition on the museum’s second floor opening Dec. 12, 2026. The show typically includes three or four artists who are early in their careers — or who haven’t previously received “substantial recognition” from a major institution.
Finalists are selected from an application process that asks local artists, curators and gallerists to nominate three artists each. This year, the curators reviewed over 140 submissions by nominated artists.
The 2026 SECA finalists:
Sholeh Asgary
Windy Chien
CrossLypka
Soleé Darrell
Hughen/Starkweather
Xandra Ibarra
Em Kettner
Charles H. Lee
Yameng Lee Thorp
Aspen Mays
Adia Millett
Lorena Molina
Tricia Rainwater
Chanell Stone
Livien Yin
Jes Young
The list represents the true range of practices in the Bay Area, and includes artists working in collaborative ceramics, black-and-white photography, luscious oil paintings and small-scale sculpture. The SECA show will run through May 30, 2027, and will include a publication.