- Immigrant Times
- Dec 3, 2025
- 7 min read
The Vilcek Foundation: Championing American immigrants in the arts and sciences since 2001
The inaugural arts prize was awarded to the artist duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude for their influential environmental installations
By The Immigrant Times
The Vilcek Foundation headquarters in New York City. Il Lee at the Vilcek Foundation for his exhibition Il Lee, Energy and Flow: Abstraction of Movements, 2025. (Photo: Jason Schmidt, courtesy of the Vilcek Foundation)
December 2025: For a quarter century, the Vilcek Foundation has stood as one of the most articulate voices celebrating the contributions immigrants make to the cultural and scientific life of the United States. Founded in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, two immigrants from former Czechoslovakia, the foundation’s mission reflects the couple’s conviction that their adopted country has been immeasurably enriched by the talents, perspectives, and innovations of newcomers.
Jan and Marica Vilcek arrived in the United States in 1965 after leaving Czechoslovakia, where the political climate had become increasingly restrictive. They settled in New York, where each built a distinguished career. Jan became a leading figure in immunology at New York University School of Medicine, studying interferons and tumour necrosis factor, proteins critical to the functioning of the immune system. His work contributed to the development of Remicade, a ground-breaking therapeutic drug for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The success of this research would later provide the significant royalties that formed the foundation’s endowment.
Marica brought her own expertise to the couple’s philanthropic vision. An art historian by training, she joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she spent more than three decades overseeing acquisitions and cataloguing in the Accessions and Catalogue Department. Her knowledge of the arts and her commitment to cultural stewardship helped shape the foundation’s focus on both scientific and artistic excellence.
Before the Vilcek Foundation existed in its current form, the couple established a small charitable organisation dedicated to autoimmune disease research. But as their thinking evolved, influenced by their gratitude for the opportunities they found in America, the Vilceks envisioned a broader mission. In 2000, they refounded their philanthropic work as the Vilcek Foundation, dedicated to celebrating immigrant contributions and fostering greater public appreciation for the arts and sciences.
From its earliest years, the Vilcek Foundation aimed to increase public understanding of the positive role immigrants play in shaping American society. Its approach has been multifaceted: awarding prizes to outstanding immigrant artists and scientists, issuing grants to institutions aligned with its goals, and mounting exhibitions and cultural programming that spotlight immigrant creativity.
The foundation’s first grants were awarded in 2001. These early initiatives reflected its dual focus: one grant supported biomedical research at NYU School of Medicine, while another funded an apprentice programme at the Santa Fe Opera, helping emerging immigrant artists and technicians build careers in the performing arts. The foundation soon acquired a Manhattan townhouse, establishing a permanent home where exhibitions, lectures, and cultural events could take place.
In 2006, the foundation launched the Vilcek Prizes, which have since become among the most respected honours available to immigrant professionals in the US. The inaugural prizes were awarded to the artist duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude for their influential environmental installations, and to the biomedical researcher Joan Massagué, a leading figure in cancer biology. These selections set the tone for the years that followed: the prizes would honour immigrants whose work demonstrates both exceptional achievement and a profound impact on their field.
Over the years, the foundation has recognised a wide array of laureates. Celebrated recipients include cellist and cultural ambassador Yo-Yo Ma; Katalin Karikó, the Hungarian-born biochemist whose pioneering research enabled the development of mRNA vaccines; and numerous emerging artists, writers, designers, performers, and scientists whose early promise has since blossomed into major careers.
In 2009, the foundation introduced the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise, aimed at early-career immigrants who show extraordinary potential. These awards have helped launch the careers of young scientists advancing frontier fields from gene regulation to bioengineering, and artists whose work pushes the boundaries of contemporary culture, choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, and designers whose voices might otherwise have struggled to find recognition.
The foundation continued to evolve its prize programme. In 2019, it introduced the Vilcek Prize for Excellence, recognising immigrants whose contributions transcend a single discipline and have shaped American society in broader, transformative ways. This prize has highlighted figures whose work connects art, science, activism, education, and public life.
Most recently, the foundation created the Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History to honour the crucial role of foreign-born scholars and museum professionals in preserving and interpreting cultural heritage. In its inaugural year, three international scholars received $100,000 awards, signalling the foundation’s commitment to supporting those who shape the stories art tells us about ourselves.
In addition to its prizes, the foundation maintains a robust grant-making programme. Over its 25-year history, it has funded more than 130 organisations across 30 US states, Washington D.C., and Guam. These grants support medical research institutions, arts organisations, cultural initiatives, immigrant-facing programmes, and non-profit groups aligned with the foundation’s mission.
One of its longest-running partnerships is with the Hawaii International Film Festival. Since 2007, the foundation has supported the festival’s ‘New American Perspectives’ programme, spotlighting immigrant filmmakers and broadening the visibility of immigrant stories in American cinema. Its Manhattan gallery has hosted exhibitions that showcase immigrant artists, from contemporary painters to photographers and multimedia creators, extending the foundation’s impact into the public sphere.
The Vilcek Foundation is a private operating foundation, independent of government funding. Its financial base comes largely from royalties associated with Jan Vilcek’s scientific work, supplemented by the couple’s substantial personal philanthropy. This independence has allowed the foundation to remain focused on its mission without commercial or political pressures. As of its 25th anniversary year, the foundation has awarded over 17 million dollars in prizes and grants, a testament to the Vilceks’ belief in reinvesting the fruits of their success into their adopted country.
The story of the Vilcek Foundation mirrors the larger narrative of immigrant possibility: arrival, contribution, achievement, and giving back. Jan and Marica Vilcek’s own journey, from young émigrés seeking academic freedom to established leaders in science and the arts, has informed an institution committed to honouring the myriad ways immigrants shape America.
By recognising outstanding immigrant artists, scientists, scholars, and innovators, and by supporting institutions that advance cultural and scientific knowledge, the Vilcek Foundation affirms the simple message: immigrants do not merely participate in American society; they help build it. Their insights, perspectives, and accomplishments expand the nation’s imagination and push its understanding of what is possible.
Selected notable Vilcek Prize recipients
Vilcek Prizes
(established 2006 for major achievement in arts or biomedical science)
Christo & Jeanne‑Claude, the first Fine Arts winners in 2006, are known worldwide for their monumental, often site-specific environmental and installation art.
Joan Massagué: first scientific laureate (Biomedical Science, 2006), a prominent cancer biologist whose work exemplifies how immigrant scientists contribute to major advances in medicine.
Yo‑Yo Ma: awarded in Contemporary Music (2013); internationally celebrated cellist whose life and work reach well beyond classical music circles.
Mikhail Baryshnikov: awarded in Dance (2012), a globally renowned dancer and choreographer whose career spans ballet, contemporary dance, theatre, and film.
José Andrés: awarded in Culinary Arts (2010), a chef-restaurateur who became one of America’s most visible immigrant-chef figures.
Huda Zoghbi: awarded in Biomedical Science (2009), a neuroscientist whose work on Rett syndrome and other neurological disorders highlights immigrant contributions to cutting-edge science.
Katalin Karikó: awarded the Vilcek Prize for Excellence in Biotechnology (2022) for her pioneering research into mRNA therapeutics, which enabled the development of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
Henry Louis Gates Jr.: awarded the 2025 Vilcek Prize for Excellence in Literary Scholarship for his far-reaching work on African American history, literature and culture, and for shaping public discourse on race, identity, and immigration.
Luciano Marraffini: awarded the 2024 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science for his pioneering research on CRISPR–Cas systems, with significant implications for genome editing and microbial immunity.
Marianne Bronner: awarded the 2025 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science; her work on neural-crest stem cells and vertebrate development stands out as a major contribution to developmental biology.
Guadalupe Maravilla: awarded the 2025 Vilcek Prize in Visual Arts; his sculptures, installations and performative works explore migration, memory, healing and identity: themes deeply resonant with immigrant experience.
Angélique Kidjo: awarded a Vilcek Prize (Music, 2023); as an internationally renowned singer-songwriter from Benin, she represents how immigrant artists enrich and transform American cultural life.
Du Yun: awarded the Vilcek Prize (Music, 2023); her work underscores the foundation’s commitment to supporting diverse immigrant voices in contemporary music.
Neri Oxman: awarded the Vilcek Prize (Design, 2014); her interdisciplinary practice fusing biology, design, materials science and architecture has helped redefine what “design” can be in the 21st century.
José Andrés: cited among prominent past laureates whose immigrant background and creative work in the culinary arts illustrate the foundation’s recognition of cultural contribution beyond traditional academia: a reminder that immigration enriches all aspects of society.
Huda Zoghbi: awarded the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science (2009); her neuroscience research, including work on Rett syndrome and other neurological disorders, demonstrates the critical role immigrant scientists play in advancing human knowledge and health.
Mike Nichols: awarded the Vilcek Prize in the arts (2009); as a stage and film director with an immigrant background, he exemplifies how immigrants have contributed powerfully to theatre and cinema.
Vilcek Prize for Excellence
(started 2019 for immigrants whose impact is broad, far-reaching, or culturally transformative)
Katalin Karikó: awarded in 2022 (Biotechnology); her pioneering research into mRNA therapeutics laid the groundwork for the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, arguably one of the most consequential scientific developments of our time.
Henry Louis Gates Jr.: awarded in 2025 (Literary Scholarship); a scholar of African American history and literature whose work has shaped public conversations about race, identity, and immigration in America.
Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise
(for early- or mid-career immigrant artists/scientists)
Angélique Kidjo: awarded in 2023 (Music); an internationally celebrated singer-songwriter originally from Benin, whose music and activism bridge continents and cultures.
Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado: awarded in 2023 (Biomedical Science); represents how immigrant scientists continue to drive forward important research in biomedicine under the foundation’s support.
Further reading: Books by Immigrant writers ||
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