Seneca artist Marie Watt to create work for Obama Presidential Center

Seneca artist Marie Watt has received the 2025 Heinz Award for the Arts and will create a site-specific work for the Obama Presidential Center, according to ICT. Watt, known for her blanket towers, sculptures, textiles and prints, is participating in a retrospective exhibit, “Storywork: The Prints of Marie Watt, From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation,” at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Portland State University through Dec. 6.

The Heinz Award includes a $250,000 unrestricted cash prize, which Watt said will support her studio operations and creative experimentation. She is collaborating with artist Nick Cave on a multimedia textile installation, “This Land, Shared Sky,” merging Indigenous and Black traditions for the presidential center. Watt described the project as a community-centered work and said the commission recognizes her multi-decade career exploring cultural intersections through art.