Shikeith is one of two recipients of the first VMFA Aaron Siskind Award for Photography, an honor that coincides with the acquisition of his photograph “Visiting Hours” by The Phillips Collection.
Visiting MFA Core Faculty member Shikeith has been named an inaugural recipient of the VMFA Aaron Siskind Award for Photography, a new Virginia Museum of Fine Arts initiative supporting contemporary photographic practice. Selected from more than 800 applicants, Shikeith submitted a new body of work that captures what he describes as the result of “trusting instinct, following curiosity, and committing fiercely to photography as a site of risk and revelation.”
The recognition arrives alongside two other major milestones: the acquisition of his photograph Visiting Hours by The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and the conclusion of his first solo show in his hometown of Philadelphia. Visiting Hours was recently featured in the museum’s exhibition “Essex Hemphill: Take Care of Your Blessings,” which explored Hemphill’s creative and political legacy through the lens of contemporary artists. Shikeith’s solo exhibition “People Who Die Bad Don’t Stay in the Ground” was on view at the TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image from September 11 to November 22, 2025.
Image: Shikeith, Visiting Hours, 2022. Archival inkjet print on photo rag baryta paper. 49 in x 60 in; 124.46. The Dreier Fund for Acquisitions, 2025 cm x 152.4 cm. Courtesy of The Phillips Collection.