Celebrating Luca Cruzat, Recipient of the 3Arts / Artspace Southern Illinois Award

Celebrating Luca Cruzat, Recipient of the 3Arts / Artspace Southern Illinois Award

Artspace Southern Illinois is proud to announce that Luca Cruzat is the recipient of the 2026 3Arts / Artspace Southern Illinois Award in Visual Arts, an unrestricted $30,000 award recognizing her artistic achievement and supporting her continued creative work.

Working from her studio in Murphysboro, Luca creates art that explores memory, identity, and the human experience. She specializes in collagraphy, a printmaking process that builds images from textured surfaces, and extends her practice into installations and three-dimensional work. Her distinctive use of simplified forms, restrained color, and materials such as garments gives personal stories a powerful visual presence.

Luca’s work draws on her life in Chile and Southern Illinois, connecting experiences across places and generations. She earned her Master of Fine Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2006 and has contributed to the region’s creative community through exhibitions and her involvement with Murphysboro’s Oak Street Art collective.

We were honored to celebrate Luca alongside her fellow awardees at the 3Arts Awards Celebration at Chicago’s Harris Theater on Monday, October 26. Seeing a Southern Illinois artist recognized on this stage was a proud moment for Artspace, and for the region we serve.

The award offers Luca the freedom to direct its support where it matters most in her life and artistic practice. It also affirms something we see throughout Southern Illinois: artists whose work deserves recognition and meaningful investment.

In March 2027 (details forthcoming), Artspace Southern Illinois will host a reception celebrating Luca with her family, friends, fellow artists, and the public. We look forward to bringing this celebration home and will share the date and details as plans are finalized.

Congratulations, Luca. We are proud to celebrate your work and this well-deserved recognition.

Learn more about Luca and explore her work on the 3Arts website.