Pulitzer-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri has declined the 2024 Isamu Noguchi Award from the museum after the institution fired its employees for wearing keffiyehs this September.
‘Jhumpa Lahiri has chosen to withdraw her acceptance of the 2024 Isamu Noguchi Award in response to our updated dress code policy,’ the museum says in a statement. ‘We respect her perspective and understand that this policy may or may not align with everyone’s views.’
Established in 2014, the annual award acknowledges accomplished individuals with ‘spirit of innovation, unbounded imagination, and uncompromising commitment to creativity’ as well as ‘work that carries significant social consciousness and function’. Following Lahiri’s withdrawal, this year’s Isamu Noguchi Award will now only go to Korean artist Lee Ufan.
