Awards + Medals

The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (JKO) Medal is awarded annually to individuals who, through vision, leadership, and philanthropy, have made an extraordinary contribution to New York City. The award was established in 1994 to honor Mrs. Kennedy Onassis and her passionate efforts to preserve great architecture in New York City.

The Brendan Gill Prize is given each year to the creator of a specific work—a book, essay, musical composition, play, painting, sculpture, architectural design, film, or choreographic piece—that best captures the spirit and energy of New York City.

The prize was established in 1987 in honor of Brendan Gill by friend and fellow MAS board member Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis along with board members Helen Tucker and Margot Wellington.

On September 21, 2022, MAS celebrated the winner of the 2021 Brendan Gill Prize, filmmaker John Wilson for his HBO television series, How To with John Wilson. The ceremony was held at the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) in Queens, and included an engaging conversation about the show with John Wilson and members of the Brendan Gill Prize Jury.

The call for nominations for the 2023 Brendan Gill Prize was open through Monday, February 20. Please email events@mas.org with any questions.

All eligible nominations must have been completed and produced between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, and must be based-in and pertaining to New York City.

Established in 2001, the MASterworks Awards pay tribute to projects completed in the previous year that exemplify excellence in architecture and urban design. From iconic buildings to hidden neighborhood gems, our list of past winners includes the likes of Weeksville Heritage Center, Manhattan District 1/2/5 Garage & Salt Shed, the Fulton Center, McCarren Pool and Bathhouse, the Tenement Museum, the TKTS Booth, El Barrio Bait Station, the High Bridge, and the Gowanus Canal Sponge Park.

The call for nominations for the 2023 MASterworks Design Awards will open in June 2023. All nominated projects must be located in New York City and have been completed in 2022. Projects can be nominated in up to two of the following categories:

• Best New Building for outstanding architectural design
• Best Urban Landscape for a new or revitalized open space that contributes to livability and resilience
• Best Restoration for a project that expertly enhances the original qualities of a significant historic building or structure
• Best Adaptive Reuse for a project that demonstrates exceptional creativity in adaptive reuse of an existing building or structure
• Best New Infrastructure for distinctive design in public service projects
• Best New Urban Amenity for an addition to the built environment that contributes to a more livable city

Every year, MAS convenes an esteemed jury of architects, designers, preservationists, scholars, and critics to select the winners of the MASterworks Awards. Past jury members have included Justin Davidson, Architecture and Classical Music Critic, New York Magazine; Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG; Alexandra Lange, Architecture Critic, Curbed; Justin Garrett Moore, then-Executive Director, NYC Public Design Commission; Benjamin Prosky, Executive Director, AIA New York / Center for Architecture; and Rafael Viñoly, Rafael Viñoly Architects.

The 2022 MASterworks Jury included the following acclaimed individuals:

Angel Ayón, Principal, AYON Studio
Debbie Millman, Host, Design Matters
Pascale Sablan, FAIA, NOMA, LEED AP, Senior Associate Adjaye Associates, Founder & Executive Director Beyond the Built Environment LLC
Tina Vaz, MAS Board of Directors and Head, Meta Open Arts
Sara Zewde, PLA, Principal, Studio Zewde; Assistant Professor of Practice, Harvard University.

The Jane Jacobs Medal was awarded annually to individuals whose work created new ways of seeing and understanding New York City, challenged traditional assumptions, and creatively used the urban environment to make New York City a place of hope and expectation. The Rockefeller Foundation awarded the medal. It was administered by MAS through a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The award was created in 2007.