Brooklyn Museum’s UOVO Prize winner receives commission for public art installations

December 18, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

UOVO Prize winner Melissa Joseph stands with one of her works. IMAGE CREDIT: Melissa Joseph, 2024. Photo: Miguel McSongwe

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PROSPECT HEIGHTS — THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM has awarded the UOVO Prize, which recognizes the work of emerging Brooklyn-based artists, to Melissa Joseph. The prize is named for its sponsor, a premier luxury storage and logistics provider for fine art, fashion and wine, with 30 facilities across the U.S. As the awardee, Ms. Joseph is given a commission for a fifty-by-fifty-foot public art installation on the facade of UOVO’s Brooklyn facility in Bushwick, a solo presentation at the Brooklyn Museum, and a $25,000 unrestricted cash grant. Ms. Joseph was selected by a team of Brooklyn Museum curators from among the artists featured in The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition, a major group show that UOVO supports. The artist’s work Olive’s Hair Salon (2023) is included in the exhibition. Last year, her work Getting Reuben’s tuition book (2023) was added to the Museum’s collection. Ms. Joseph will present a mural next June at UOVO Brooklyn and an installation at the Brooklyn Museum, both referencing Italy’s Siena Cathedral. The Museum’s installation will be displayed on its outdoor plaza, publicly accessible day and night.

Working in the media of needle felting and found items, Ms. Joseph’s artwork considers themes of memory, family history and the politics of occupying space. Her art alludes to the labors of women as well as her experiences as a second-generation American dealing with the unique juxtapositions of diasporic life.

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