The Vilcek Foundation aims to raise public awareness of the contributions of immigrants to the sciences, the arts and culture in the United States. The Foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the Foundation was inspired by the couple’s respective careers in biomedical science and art history, as well as their personal experiences and appreciation for the opportunities offered them as newcomers to the United States. Through its prizes and other programs, the Vilcek Foundation publicizes the far-reaching influence of immigrants on the professional, academic, and artistic communities across the United States. The Foundation awards the annual Vilcek Prizes in the biomedical science and the arts, hosts immigrant artists at its gallery space in New York City, and sponsors programs such as the Hawaii International Film Festival.
Famous quotes containing the word foundation:
“Simplicity of life, even the barest, is not a misery, but the very foundation of refinement; a sanded floor and whitewashed walls and the green trees, and flowery meads, and living waters outside; or a grimy palace amid the same with a regiment of housemaids always working to smear the dirt together so that it may be unnoticed; which, think you, is the most refined, the most fit for a gentleman of those two dwellings?”
—William Morris (1834–1896)