Jan. 29, 2026, 12:54 p.m. ET
Considered to be the Detroit cultural community’s most prestigious awards, the 2026 Kresge Eminent Artist prize has been given to Detroit visionary and internationally celebrated artist Tyree Guyton.
He’s the 18th artist to receive the honor, which includes $100,000. Guyton is also the recipient of a Kresge Artist Fellowship in 2009, its inaugural year.
In a media alert announcing the news, Guyton said it was “surreal.”
“I felt like Moses,” he said. “All I heard clearly was, ‘eminent’ and ‘you’ve been chosen.’ I got real quiet. I couldn’t believe what she [Kresge Arts in Detroit Director Katie McGowan] was telling me. It still feels crazy, after all this time. Me, chosen.’’
Guyton, 70, is best known for the world-famous Heidelberg Project, a colorful outdoor neighborhood art movement on his childhood street in Detroit. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the historic and sometimes controversial project.
Since then, Guyton has had his work in the permanent collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Wright Museum, the University of Michigan Museum of Art and the Studio Museum of Harlem. In 2012, he was the artist-in-residence in Basel, Switzerland.
The Kresge Eminent Artist award is selected by a rotating panel of area artists and arts professionals.
“Detroit has so much going on creatively right now, it’s easy to be out of touch with the fact that art here is not new,’’ said Haleem Stringz in a statement. He’s a dancer, choreographer, educator and 2010 Kresge Arts Fellow who is on the panel. “One of the best things about this award is that it refuses to let that history be forgotten.”
“Artists like Tyree, they’re the ones who paved the way for what’s happening today,’’ he said. “It’s a moment of real respect, a chance to shine some light where it’s due.’’
mbaetens@detroitnews.com
