Nari Ward is an artist known for sculptural installations composed of discarded materials collected from his neighborhood. By recontextualizing objects like shopping carts, televisions, and shoelaces, Ward addresses social and political issues related to race, poverty, and consumer culture. He received the Vilcek Prize for Fine Arts and the Rome Prize in Visual Arts. His work was presented in the Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston), the Whitney Biennial (New York), the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (North Adams), the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), and the Pérez Art Museum Miami. In 2019, he was honored with the Great Immigrant Award by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.​