Kara Walker has won this year's Lucelia Artist Award, worth $25,000. The award is a Smithsonian's prize, funded by the Lucelia Foundation, a New York-based institution devoted to supporting the visual arts.

You mean you've never heard of this art prize managed by one of our local museums?

"Walker is the fourth artist to receive the Smithsonian's prize, funded by the Lucelia Foundation, a New York-based institution devoted to supporting the visual arts. Her selection is in line with previous winners, all of whom have been on the challenging end of contemporary art. Jorge Pardo, the 2001 Lucelia winner, makes slick design objects he presents as art; Liz Larner, the winner in 2002, has shown photographs of petri dishes full of molds; Rirkrit Tiravanija, who won last year, is a performance artist whose work often involves cooking and serving food."

I'd love to know who the "jury of experts" in the committee to select the award winners are. Congratulations to Ms. Walker.

This $25,000 Lucelia Art Award is a national level prize - locally, DC, MD and VA artists can compete for the $14,000 Trawick Prize.