Visionary: Celebrating Leadership in the Arts

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1970, Julie Mehretu is a world-renowned painter who lives and works in New York City. She earned a BA from Kalamazoo College, Michigan, studied at the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal, and earned an MFA with honors from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1997.

Mehretu has received many prestigious awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship (2005), the Guna S. Mundheim Berlin Prize at the American Academy in Berlin, Germany (2007), and the US Department of State National Medal of Arts (2015). Named one of TIME’s 100 most influential people of 2020, Mehretu also created an 85-by-25-foot glass mural for The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago titled Uprising of the Sun, completed in 2024. Her work has been exhibited extensively in museums and biennials and in 2024, Julie Mehretu: Ensemble opened at the Pinault Collection’s Palazzo Grassi in Venice, followed by a solo exhibition opened at K21 in Düsseldorf, Germany, titled Julie Mehretu: KAIROS / HAUNTOLOGICAL VARIATIONS in May 2025.

Mehretu is a strong advocate and a catalyst for social justice and cultural preservation initiatives. As cofounder of Denniston Hill in 2004 with artists Paul Pfeiffer and Lawrence Chua, Mehretu has helped create a residency that serves as a sanctuary for artists and multidisciplinary creatives to reconnect with nature, explore creative ideas, and foster communities.

The MCA’s Arts Philanthropy Award recognizes visionary philanthropic and civic leadership in the arts in Chicago by one of the city’s institutions. King Harris, who leads the Harris Family Foundation, has served as a Trustee at the MCA since 1979 and served as Chair from 2012 until 2015. He has also served as a trustee of the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Metropolitan Planning Council, University of Chicago, Chicago Community Trust, World Sport Chicago, and the Francis W. Parker School.

Harris worked with school officials at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy to develop ideas for what is now the Keller Center site. The community Forum—made from reclaimed wood milled at a South Side facility established by Theaster Gates—is named in his honor.

The Harris Family Foundation’s support of the arts in Chicago includes the MCA, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Harris Theatre of Music and Dance, the Music Institute, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and Steppenwolf Theater. The Harris Family Foundation’s support of the MCA began in 1979 and has been integral to the growth of the museum and its programs.