Coco Fusco, James Welling, and The New York Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to be Honored at 2026 NYFA Hall of Fame Benefit

NYFA’s 2026 Hall of Fame will be held on Thursday, April 23 at Capitale in Manhattan.

NYFA will celebrate the induction of three honorees into the NYFA Hall of Fame during its annual benefit on Thursday, April 23 at Capitale, 130 Bowery, in Manhattan. This annual event is a vibrant celebration of the arts and an acknowledgement of both the remarkable artists we serve and the incredible patrons who support our mission.

Established in 2011 as NYFA’s most significant fundraiser, the benefit features a banquet dinner, an awards ceremony recognizing luminaries in visual, literary, and performing arts, and a silent auction filled with unique artistic treasures to support NYFA’s diverse programs.

It’s a once-a-year opportunity to come together for a night of joy and celebration, honoring those who have made profound impacts in the arts, those who sustain artistic vision with unwavering integrity, and the creativity and dedication that embodies NYFA’s mission.

Inductees:

• Coco Fusco, Interdisciplinary Artist | Fellow in Nonfiction ‘91, ‘14
• James Welling, Visual Artist | Fellow in Photography ‘86
• The New York State Council on the Arts (represented by Erika Mallin, Executive Director)

Program:

• 6:30-7:30 PM Cocktails and Hors d’oeuvres, Silent Auction
  7:30-9 PM Dinner and Honors
  9-9:30 PM Dessert and Closing Remarks

Attire is festive.

NYFA Board Members Christopher Rudd and Lesley-Anne Gliedman are the 2026 Hall of Fame Benefit Co-Chairs. The Benefit committee is Sarah Young O’Donnell, NYFA Board Chair; and NYFA Board Members Christopher Donini, Marc J. Jason, and J. Wesley McDade, and NYFA Advisory Council Member Liz Christensen comprise the 2026 Hall of Fame Benefit Committee. 

On the inductees, NYFA Board Chair Sarah Young O’Donnell said: “We are delighted and honored to induct Coco Fusco, James Welling and The New York State Council on the Arts into the NYFA Hall of Fame. The visionary work of Coco and James inspires us and the steadfast support of the arts by NYSCA sustains us. Both keep us moving forward in our mission to empower artists in all disciplines to achieve success on their own terms by providing support, resources, and opportunities at critical points in their artistic journeys.”

Past Hall of Fame Inductees include Ida Applebroog, Paul Beatty, Sanford Biggers, James Casebere, Christopher d’Amboise, Marylyn Dintenfass, Anna Deavere Smith, Min Jin Lee, Zhou Long, Christian Marclay, Terry McMillan, Jaye Moon, Mira Nair, Lynn Nottage, Eric Overmyer, Suzan-Lori Parks, Wendy Perron, Dwight Rhoden, Faith Ringgold, JT Rogers, Carolee Schneemann, Andres Serrano, Carmelita Tropicana, Donna Uchizono, Kay WalkingStick, Chin Chih Yang, and Nina Yankowitz.

“Coco Fusco and James Welling push boundaries in their work, and in very different ways. They challenge us to see and think differently,” said Michael Royce, CEO, NYFA. “NYSCA stands in a league of its own, established before the NEA, and subsequently founding NYFA in 1971, the Council has provided hundreds of millions to the creative community of our State for the past 65 years. We are grateful to each of our honorees for the work that they do, and are thrilled to celebrate them this April.”

Coco Fusco is an interdisciplinary artist and writer. She is a member of the Academy of Arts and Letters and a Professor of Art at Cooper Union. Fusco is a recipient of numerous awards, including a Guggenheim fellowship, a United States Artists fellowship, a Fulbright fellowship and a Herb Alpert Award in the Arts. Fusco’s performances and videos have been presented in the 56th Venice Biennale, Frieze Special Projects, Basel Unlimited, three Whitney Biennials (2022, 2008 and 1993), and several other international exhibitions. Her works are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Walker Art Center, the Centre Pompidou, the Imperial War Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona. She is represented by Mendes Wood DM.

James Welling is a photographer and educator. His work is held in major museum collections in the U.S., including the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh; MoCA Los Angeles; MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT; and in Europe in the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the V&A, London; the S.M.A.K., Gent; the MAC Grand Hornu; and the Kunst Museum, Bielefeld. He exhibits at David Zwirner, New York; Regen Projects, Los Angeles; and Marian Goodman, Paris. In Fall 2026, he will exhibit Cento, his multi-year project on antiquity, at Fairfield University’s Walsh Gallery in Fairfield, CT. From 1995-2016 he taught in the UCLA Department of Art and for the past 10 years he has been a lecturer in the Visual Art Program at Princeton University. 

Founded in 1960 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, The New York State Council on the Arts aims to foster and advance the full breadth of New York State’s arts, culture, and creativity for all. NYSCA achieves this mission through its core grant-making, which supports approximately 3,000 artists and arts organizations across all ten regions of New York State annually. To further strengthen New York’s vibrant creative sector, NYSCA will award over $161 million in FY 2026. Through the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, NYSCA champions New York’s unparalleled arts and culture sector as a powerful economic driver, a source of community well-being, and a worldwide leader of creativity and innovation.

Erika Mallin currently serves as the Executive Director of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), where she directs a $161.5 M annual grant budget, supporting over 3,000 artists and arts and cultural organizations across the State. Appointed by the Governor in 2024 as the state’s highest-ranking arts official, she has achieved significant impact, including securing a historic budget increase and launching innovative initiatives for artists and arts and cultural institutions.

Ticket prices start at $700 and Tables at $7,000; you can purchase tickets here. For more information about NYFA’s Hall of Fame Benefit, please contact the Development Department at benefit@nyfa.org or 212.366.6900 x 207.