Initiated in 2001, the SculptureCenter Prize is awarded annually to a New York area artist who has produced a mature body of work and shows potential for further growth and evolution. There are no specific criteria with respect to age, education, exhibition history or gallery affiliation, however the recipient will be an artist that has consistently produced outstanding work and is under-recognized. Artists are nominated by colleagues and the recipient is selected by a three person jury. The 2005 jury comprised Lynn Cooke, Curator at Dia Art Foundation, Laura Hoptman, Curator of the 2004 Carnegie International (Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh) and Drawing Now: Eight Propositions (The Museum of Modern Art, New York), and artist Andrea Fraser.

Intended to further SculptureCenter's mission of encouraging experimentation and excellence in contemporary sculpture, the SculptureCenter Prize has been established with a gift from Jourdan Arpelle and Henry Steinway Ziegler. Mr. Ziegler is a former Trustee of SculptureCenter.