Diana Eusebio has been named the 2024 YoungArts Jorge M. Pérez Award winner. Eusebio, a Peruvian-Dominican multidisciplinary artist, fashion designer and a 2016 YoungArts award winner in Visual Arts and U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, will receive an unrestricted prize of $25,000.
“YoungArts is grateful to The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation for their continued partnership and recognition of talented artists like Diana, whose work is a powerful testament to the enduring cultural tapestry of the Indigenous Latin American and Afro- Caribbean communities,” said Clive Chang, President of YoungArts. “It is through awards like this that YoungArts is able to support artists throughout their careers, and we could not do it without the help of Jorge and his family.”
“Supporting young artists like Diana Eusebio through the Jorge M. Pérez Award is a profound honor for my family, as these individuals play a crucial role in shaping the fabric of today’s society and represent the next generation of change-makers,” said Jorge M. Pérez, family patriarch and head of the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation. “Young artists and their creative endeavors hold the potential to inspire positive transformations not only within their immediate circles but throughout entire communities. We acknowledge the invaluable perspectives and narratives they bring forth, and we express our gratitude to YoungArts for their dedication in ensuring these talents receive the recognition they truly deserve.”
Eusebio employs color and textiles to research the intersections of Latinx, Black Caribbean, and Quechua Indigenous heritage. She researches natural dyed textiles from Indigenous Latin American and Afro-Caribbean traditions, recognizing their connection to nature and their role as carriers of ancestral wisdom. Eusebio’s fusion of ancestral and modern techniques, including dyeing and photography, contributes to contemporary cultural preservation and celebrates the rich heritage and Pre-Columbian knowledge embedded within these communities.
Eusebio is the inaugural recipient of the 2024 Knight Arts Foundation Housing Grant which supports her ongoing two year (2023-2024) Studio Residency at Oolite Arts in Miami Beach. Eusebio has also been an artist in residence at Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Aspen, CO; and Red Hook Labs, New York, NY, among others. She was an Artist in Residence in Everglades (AIRIE) Fellow and recipient of their annual Indigenous Fellowship; and participated in the 2019 PRIZM Art Fair Photography Fellowship and the 2023 Edge Zones International Exchange Residency, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Her work has been exhibited in prestigious national and international institutions and art fairs –including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Hall of Nations at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Gregg Museum of Art and Design, Rubell Museum, Parsons The New School of Design, Maryland Institute College of Art, School of Visual Arts, and Palazzo Dei Cartelloni, Florence, Italy.
Most recently, in Fall 2023, Eusebio was invited to the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) as a visiting artist to teach the “Creative Aging Series,” a series of workshops teaching Black, Latinx, and Indigenous natural dye techniques to a group of older adults (55+) from the Hialeah Housing Authority.“When I was notified I won the Jorge M. Pérez Award from YoungArts, waves of nostalgia enveloped me, recalling the childlike joy, excitement, and genuine gratitude experienced when I was first notified as a YoungArts winner,” said Diana Eusebio. “YoungArts has consistently supported my artistic journey, fostering a lasting connection since I became a winner nearly a decade ago. This award will provide an invaluable opportunity for me to fearlessly cultivate my textile and fashion design work.”
Eusebio continued, “I aim to utilize the funding for a transformative journey back to Peru, my ancestral homeland. There, I aspire to immerse myself in the ancient art of natural dyeing practiced by the Quechua communities. Through international platforms like fashion weeks in major cities, I intend to showcase and preserve those endangered textile techniques. In my hometown of Miami, I plan to host natural dyeing workshops, fostering a reconnection to Indigenous knowledge among Afro-Latinx communities in Miami and beyond.”
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 an open call on YoungArts Post. Selections are made by the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation. Recent recipients include Cornelius Tulloch (2016 Visual Arts & U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts), 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).
