Simone Forti wins AWAW, Anonymous Was A Woman

Anonymous Was A Woman is an unrestricted grant of $25,000 that enables women artists, over 40 years of age and at a significant juncture in their lives or careers, to continue to grow and pursue their work. The Award is given in recognition of an artist’s accomplishments, artistic growth and the quality of her work. It is not need-based.

The name of the grant program, Anonymous Was A Woman, refers to a line in Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. As the name implies, nominators and those associated with the program are unnamed. 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, some 200 women have received the award. Each year, an outstanding group of distinguished women – art historians, curators, writers and previous winners – serve as nominators.