Jacki Apple in Hearts of Palm, 1978

The Jacki Apple Award in Performance and Artist Projects 2024-2033

Franklin Furnace is honored to present the inaugural Jacki Apple Award in Performance and Artist Projects, celebrating the enduring impact of Jacki Apple on the New York art scene.

This award will be an annual award given over the next ten years and reflects Jacki Apple’s commitment to championing artists, demonstrated through her multidisciplinary career as a writer, educator, radio host, and artist since the early 1980s.

The Jacki Apple Award in Performance and Artist Projects is initiated by Jacki’s sister, Marjorie Bank, along with Jeff McMahon, Deborah Oliver, Stuart Jackson-Hughes and Emily Waters. The Jacki Apple Fund is a tribute to Jacki’s lifelong dedication to NY & LA’s avant-garde art communities. Franklin Furnace and sister organization LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) will each distribute one $10,000 award per year for a total of 20 awards over the coming decade.

Jacki Apple

Jacki was an artist, an educator, a critic, an expert on performance art, and a beloved art world figure. Her collection of essays, Performance/Media/Art/Culture: Selected Essays 1983-2018 edited by Marina LaPalma was published by Intellect in 2019. More about Jacki’s life and work can be found in Artillery. Photo by Jose Mandojana.

Jacki and Franklin Furnace:

Jacki was Franklin Furnace’s curator and programs manager from 1976–1980, one of the earliest staff members. As a feminist performance artist herself, Jacki’s curatorial practice expanded into the spectrum of interdisciplinary and multi-media visual, audio, and written expression.

Franklin Furnace calendar, January-February 1977

Award Overview: 

  • Recipient: One New York City-based artist working in performance art. 
  • Grant: $10,000 to fund projects in performance, media, exhibition, and/or publication.
  • Requirement: Project must be completed within one year of receiving the award.
  • Eligibility: The artist selected for the inaugural 2024 grant will have the added requirement of being a mid or late-career artist, including past recipients of the Franklin Furnace FUND for Performance Art.
  • The selection panel will meet in July, 2024 and the award recipient will be publicly announced in October, 2024.

Application Details: