Meadows Museum Names Vicki Meek 2023 Moss/Chumley Artist Awardee

The Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University in Dallas has named Vicki Meek as the recipient of the 2023 Moss/Chumley Artist Award. The annual award is given to a North Texas artist who has exhibited professionally for at least ten years and has a record of community advocacy. This year’s prize includes a $3,000 cash award.

Vicki Meek is a Dallas-based artist and curator with a rich history of community involvement. She has over 40 years of arts administrative experience, including working as a senior program administrator for state and local arts agencies, and managing a non-profit visual arts center. Ms. Meek has additionally mentored local artists and served on the advisory boards of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts and Teatro Dallas. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Dallas Video Association and D-Art Visual Art Center, where she previously held the position of Executive Director. 

Vicki Meek. Photo courtesy of Texas Vignette.

Ms. Meek has curated more than 125 exhibitions within the state of Texas and has exhibited work throughout the state and beyond. She has been awarded numerous grants and honors, including a National Endowment for the Arts NFRIG Grant, the Dallas Observer MasterMind Award, the Dallas Museum of Art Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant, the Texas Black Filmmakers Mission Award, the Women of Visionary Influence Mentor Award, the Dallas Women’s Foundation Maura Award, the African American Museum at Dallas A. Maceo Smith Award for Cultural Achievement, and Art League Houston’s 2021 Texas Artist of the Year Award.

The Nasher Public: Urban Historical Reclamation and Recognition Collective, left to right: Ángel Faz, Vicki Meek (Fellow), Jonathan Norton, and Christian Vazquez. Photo: Jonathan Zizzo, courtesy of Nasher Sculpture Center.

In December, the Nasher Sculpture Center named Ms. Meek as the inaugural Nasher Fellow in Urban Historical Reclamation and Recognition. In this role, she will bring together a collective of artists, scholars, community members, and partners to research, document, and interpret the history of the Tenth Street Historic District Freedman’s Town in Dallas’ Oak Cliff neighborhood.

In a press release, Ms. Meek said, “Jim Chumley and Frank Moss were stalwart supporters of Texas artists and did all they could to promote those artists within and beyond Texas. I like to think my work in arts administration here in Texas did the same, so I’m honored to be recognized with the Moss/Chumley Award because our missions certainly aligned. Having my art, art practice, and community service all acknowledged in one award, is especially rewarding.”

The jury for the 2023 Moss/Chumley Award included arts writer and educator Nancy Cohen Israel; University of North Texas professors Laura Evans and Angela Gonzalez Hall; Tamara Johnson, the 2022 Moss/Chumley recipient; Texas Vignette Art Fair Manager Danielle Naylor; Miranda Saylor and Olivia Turner from the Meadows Museum; and Texas Christian University Gallery Manager Kay Seedig.

Ms. Israel stated, “Vicki Meek’s decades-long commitment to the Dallas art world embodies the spirit of the Moss/Chumley Award. Between her own thought-provoking artistic practices as well as her dedicated work as a teacher, activist, and non-profit leader, Vicki’s depth of experience honors the legacy of the award while bringing an illuminating and enriching perspective to the Meadows Museum.”