Jamaican-American, Cornelius Tulloch has been named the 2023 YoungArts Jorge M. Pérez Award winner. Tulloch, a Miami-based interdisciplinary artist and designer, 2016 YoungArts award winner in Design Arts and Visual Arts, and U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, will receive an unrestricted award of$25,000.
“YoungArts is grateful to The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation for recognizing and empowering talented artists like Cornelius Tulloch, a Miami native who so adeptly explores complex issues of identity and culture across spatial boundaries and artistic mediums,” said Clive Chang, President of YoungArts. “We are thrilled to be able to provide this continued support and look forward to watching his innovative approach to interdisciplinary discourse continue to evolve.”
“The exploration of identity and culture through art is something that my family and I hold near to our hearts, and this practice has only become more important as socio-political turmoil consumes countries and their people worldwide,” said Jorge M. Pérez, family patriarch and head of the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation. “We’re honored to be able to support talented, thoughtful artists like Cornelius through this award, and look forward to the way he and others like him will positively impact their communities and through their artistic aspirations and unique perspectives. We’re also thankful for the ongoing efforts of YoungArts and the unparalleled resources they provide to up-and-coming artists.”
Cornelius Tulloch is a skilled artist whose singular voice echoes across mediums and disciplines. His work transcends the barriers of photography, fine art, installation, performative activations and architecture to demonstrate how the boundaries of creative mediums can be bridged to tell powerful stories. His works are distinctive for their cinematic approach to storytelling, spatial complexity and use of lighting and color. His work has been shown in institutions and art fairs including The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C.; the Museo Nazionale Delle Arti Del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy; Faena Art Project Room, the YoungArts Gallery and Prizm Art Fair, in Miami, FL, and is part of the permanent collection of the Studio Museum in Harlem.
Tulloch’s work demonstrates a distinctive perspective inspired by his cultural background. These artistic explorations of identity and landscapes have led to his recognition as an Emerging Visionary Grantee by Instagram and the Brooklyn Museum’s Black Visionaries Program. As a two-time Oolite Ellie Award recipient and Green Space Initiative Grantee, his projects have been grounded within Miami’s Community. Being raised in Miami and gaining inspiration from his Jamaican and African American heritage, his work expresses how bodies exist between cultures, borders, and characteristics, to create spatial impact. Tulloch is a multidisciplinary talent that is reshaping the boundaries of art and space.
“It’s one thing to have a creative voice and vision, but it is another to have that creative voice heard and that vision seen. YoungArts has done exactly that for me. To know that for almost a decade this organization has shown me how important my unique creativity is to the world and has given me the encouragement to continue sharing my gifts and talents,” Cornelius Tulloch said. “From mentorship to resources and support, YoungArts has been there as my career has developed, and it makes it that much more special to receive the Jorge M. Pérez Award. As I continue into my professional practice, this will help me to have the ability to focus on fine-tuning my creative vision and voice to create some real impact in the world. As an artist I see myself as a storyteller helping communicate the complexities of this world into intentional and important creative narratives, and this award will help me to continue amplifying these stories.”
Established in 2018, and one of YoungArts’ largest financial awards, the Jorge M. Pérez Award honors a YoungArts Visual Arts award winner who has succeeded in strengthening their community through artistic endeavors. Applicants aged 25 and over are invited to submit materials through open call on YoungArts Post. Selections are made by the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation. Recent recipients include Juan Jose Cielo (2015 Visual Arts), Malaika Temba (2014 Visual Arts), Ilana Harris-Babou (2009 Visual Arts) and Mateo Nava (2013 Visual Arts & U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts).
The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation at The Miami Foundation fulfills the philanthropic vision of Jorge M. Pérez, chairman and CEO of The Related Group, and his family to develop South Florida as an exemplary world-class urban center. The family foundation promotes sustainable, inclusive, and just communities by supporting programs and organizations focused on arts and culture, health and well-being, education, environment, and economic development – with a particular preference for programs and organizations that could serve as models for other urban centers. Since 2015, the family foundation has committed $36 million in support of 111 non-profit organizations.
Established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison, YoungArts identifies exceptional young artists, amplifies their potential, and invests in their lifelong creative freedom. YoungArts provides space, funding, mentorship, professional development and community throughout artists’ careers. Entrance into this prestigious organization starts with a highly competitive application for talented artists ages 15–18, or grades 10–12, in the United States that is judged by esteemed discipline-specific panels of artists through a rigorous blind adjudication process.
