Famed artist and architect Maya Lin has been awarded $300,000 for her contribution to the “beauty of the world,” reports the New York Times.
The Gish Prize is described by the Times as one of the richest prizes in the arts.
“With her design for the Vietnam Memorial, Maya Lin created arguably the most important piece of public art of our time,” said playwright David Henry Hwang, the chair of the selection committee. “Since then, she has continued to achieve greatness, through a singular vision which has come to embrace her passionate concern for the environment – in America, China and throughout the planet.”
Lin is best known for her work creating the Vietnam War Memorial and her many pieces of art with an environmental theme.
Last year’s winner of the Gish Prize was movie director Spike Lee.
Lin says her prize will go a long ways to help finish a volunteer project she’s been working on for seven years.
You can read about that in the New York Times.
