Arts and Letters

NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 27, 2025 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters is pleased to announce the twenty-one new members who will be elected into the Departments of Architecture, Art, Literature, and Music in 2025, along with 1 new American Honorary member and 2 new Foreign Honorary members.

In Architecture: Ricardo Scofidio

In Art: Donna Dennis, Coco Fusco, Robert Grosvenor, Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds, Sheila Hicks, Rashid Johnson, An-My Lê, Charline von Heyl, Fred Wilson

In Literature: Elizabeth Alexander, Adam Gopnik, Gish Jen, Chang-rae Lee, Daniel Mendelsohn, Claire Messud, Darryl Pinckney, Jesmyn Ward

In Music: Derek Bermel, Gabriela Lena Frank, Lin-Manuel Miranda

American Honorary Membership: Angela Davis

Foreign Honorary Membership: Francis Alÿs, Marina Tabassum

The 300 members of Arts and Letters are divided into Departments of Architecture, Art, Literature, and Music, and are elected in recognition of notable achievement in their fields. Members are elected for life, pay no dues, and nominate and elect new members as vacancies occur. Members oversee every aspect of the institution’s governance by serving on its Board of Directors and award selection committees. By honoring their peers through election to membership and supporting nonmember artists through awards, exhibitions, art purchases, and commissions, the members of Arts and Letters create a community of mutual support and recognition for artists across disciplines.

In addition, Arts and Letters includes 75 Foreign Honorary members—architects, artists, composers, and writers from outside the United States—and 20 American Honorary members whose work falls outside the membership’s traditional departments.

The 21 new members and 3 honorary members will be inducted into Arts and Letters during its annual Ceremonial in May. During the ceremony, Caryl Phillips will deliver the keynote Blashfield Address. Phillips, an Arts and Letters member in Literature and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, is a writer of fiction, nonfiction, plays, and screenplays. He is currently Professor of English at Yale University and his newest novel, Another Man in the Street, was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux last month.

The American Academy of Arts and Letters is an honor society of artists, architects, composers, and writers who foster and sustain interest in the arts. Our 300 members distribute over 70 awards annually; fund concerts and new works of musical theater; purchase and commission contemporary art for donation to museums across the country; and present exhibitions, talks, and events for the public at our historic buildings in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City.

Media Inquiries

Ashley Fedor
(212) 368-5900
info@artsandletters.org

Full List of 2025 Newly Elected Members

Architecture
Ricardo Scofidio

Art
Donna Dennis
Coco Fusco
Robert Grosvenor
Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds
Sheila Hicks
Rashid Johnson
An-My Lê
Charline von Heyl
Fred Wilson

Literature
Elizabeth Alexander
Adam Gopnik
Gish Jen
Chang-rae Lee
Daniel Mendelsohn
Claire Messud
Darryl Pinckney
Jesmyn Ward

Music
Derek Bermel
Gabriela Lena Frank
Lin-Manuel Miranda

American Honorary Membership
Angela Davis

Foreign Honorary Membership
Francis Alÿs
Marina Tabassum