The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art announced on Apr. 27 that CrossLypka, Em Kettner, and Chanell Stone are the recipients of the 2026 SECA Art Award. The awardees were chosen after a portfolio review of more than 140 nominees and studio visits with 16 finalists by the exhibition’s co-curators.
The SECA Art Award recognizes Bay Area artists who have not yet received significant recognition from major institutions. The upcoming exhibition will be held from December 12, 2026 to May 30, 2027 in SFMOMA’s Art of California galleries, with each artist having a dedicated gallery space.
Alison Guh and Delphine Sims, assistant curators at SFMOMA and co-curators for this year’s exhibition, said: “SECA was founded over 60 years ago with the belief that encouraging our local arts community can profoundly impact both the future successes of emerging artists from the Bay Area and the broader contemporary art scene. This mission feels more urgent than ever in today’s changing arts landscape. We are thrilled to continue this legacy with the 2026 awardees, whose intimate and inventive relationships with their materials inspire us to consider our interconnected existence.”
CrossLypka is made up of Tyler Cross and Kyle Lypka, life partners based in Oakland who create sculptures reflecting their life together in Northern California. Em Kettner is an artist and writer based in Richmond whose work explores inter-abled relationships through sculpture, tapestry, and drawing. Chanell Stone lives in Oakland; her practice focuses on photography and material-based explorations centered around Black feminist thought.
Since its inception in 1967, the SECA Art Award has honored more than ninety Bay Area artists through exhibitions at SFMOMA along with accompanying publications supporting them early in their careers. Recipients are selected by museum curators following studio visits attended by members of SECA (the Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art).
A publication edited by Guh and Sims will accompany this year’s exhibition featuring essays about each winner. For further information about visiting or learning more about SFMOMA programs, readers can visit sfmoma.org or call for details.