Applications are now being accepted for the 2025 SAH | Places | Graham Foundation Prize on Race and the Built Environment.

The prize, a collaboration between the Society of Architectural Historians, Places Journal, and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, supports original public scholarship that considers race and the built environment through a contemporary lens. There are no geographical restrictions; proposals on global and transnational subjects are welcome.

Award Details

The winner of the 2025 SAH | Places | Graham Foundation Prize will receive an honorarium of $5,000 to produce a major work of public scholarship, to be published in Places Journal and presented as a public lecture through the co-sponsorship of the SAH and the Graham Foundation. The recipient will have a period of 18 months to complete the article and develop the lecture. During this time, the recipient may be asked to participate in select SAH programming and may plan additional workshops or events within the Society, if desired. Travel and accommodation associated with the public lecture will be funded in addition to the honorarium.

Award Timeline

July 2025: Prize recipient announced.
July 2025 – June 2026: Research and development of lecture and article.
July 2026 – October 2026: Publication of article and presentation of public lecture.

Criteria for Application

The SAH | Places | Graham Foundation prize is open to mid-career, senior, and independent scholars who demonstrate a strong commitment to public scholarship.

Application Requirements

1. A cover letter outlining the significance of the proposed topic.
2. A brief proposal describing your prospective article, no more than 500 words.
3. Two or three samples of published writing, including a work of public scholarship, if possible.
4. An up-to-date CV, no longer than five pages.

Application documents should be assembled into a single PDF in the above numerical order.

Application Deadline

Applications must be submitted through Dropbox (linked here) in a single PDF with the naming convention “SAHPlacesGrahamPrize_LastName_FirstName” no later than 11:59 pm Central Standard Time on Monday, April 28, 2025.

Selection Process

The award recipient will be notified in July 2025. Applications will be evaluated by the Prize Review Committee, which will be composed of representatives from the SAH, the Graham Foundation, and Places Journal. Prospective applicants are encouraged to read the previous SAH | Places | Graham Foundation prize-winning essay in Places, and to browse the journal website, including the statement on public scholarship. We also encourage applicants to read about the SAH IDEAS Initiative on the SAH website.

About the SAH | Places | Graham Foundation Prize

The prize, initially called the SAH | Places Prize, was envisioned by Charles L. Davis, II, co-founder of the SAH Race + Architectural History Affiliate Group. The SAH Race + Architectural History Affiliate Group was established by the Society of Architectural Historians in 2019 to promote research activities that analyze the racial discourses of architectural history, past and present. The group’s activities promote a race-conscious architectural history that analyzes the constitutive role of race thinking in the social construction and representation of cultural differences.

SAH, Places Journal, and the Graham Foundation strive to develop an inclusive academic culture that promotes the dissemination of pioneering research produced by both new entrants and senior scholars in the field. The goals of the SAH | Places | Graham Foundation Prize are threefold: to create a platform for existing and new scholarship in the field; to reach new publics for this work; and to develop mentorships and networking opportunities for graduate students and junior scholars.

Image: Top, L to R: Jesse Hill, 1973. [Atlanta History Center] Roof construction by students at Tuskegee Institute, ca. 1902. [Library of Congress] Puerto Rican Festival, New York City, 2015. [B.C. Lorio, via Flickr, CC 2.0] Middle, L to R: Lincoln Beach, ca. 2019. [Cheree Franco] Construction of Golden State Mutual home office building, Los Angeles. [UCLA Library Special Collections] Road in Philadelphia. [Kelly via Pexels] Bottom, L to R: W. Ray Matthewson in Princeville, North Carolina, ca. 1960s. [Edgecombe County Memorial Library] Robert C. Weaver, 1964. [LBJ Library, via Wikimedia] Tabby cabins of enslaved people, Kingsley Plantation, Fort George Island, Florida. [Jola Idowu]