Photo by Cheri Eisenberg
About the awardees
Jerry Stefl, Visionary Award
Jerry is a nationally-recognized educator and leader whose lifelong commitment to art education has shaped generations of artists, teachers and cultural leaders. IAM Education Committee Chair and a lead instructor for Intuit’s Teacher Fellowship for more than 30 years, Jerry devoted 33 years to teaching at Carl Sandburg High School and served for more than 48 years as an adjunct associate professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he is now Faculty Emeritus. His leadership has extended across the field through advisory and governance roles with Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education, the Illinois Art Education Association, the College Board’s AP Studio Art program and the Illinois State Board of Education, and he is the recipient of the National Art Education Association lifetime achievement award. Jerry’s career exemplifies the values of innovation, mentorship and advocacy at the heart of Intuit’s Visionary Award.
Nick Cave and Bob Faust, Trendsetter Award
Nick and Bob are Chicago-based artists, collaborators and cultural leaders whose work has reshaped contemporary art and design through creativity, social engagement and bold experimentation. Nick, an internationally celebrated artist working across visual and performing arts, is best known for his Soundsuits—powerful sculptural forms that merge beauty, movement and social critique, challenging viewers to confront issues of race, violence and justice while holding space for hope and transformation.
Bob is an artist and designer whose work centers typography, pattern and purpose, creating visually powerful projects that inform, provoke and celebrate human difference. Founder and creative director of the cultural branding studio Faust, he brings a message-driven approach to art and design. For Intuit Art Museum’s renovated building, Faust designed a vibrant façade wrap using photographic assets from the Museum’s collection. Works by Chicago artists were remixed into evolving patterns that connect art and architecture. Bob and Nick together co-founded Facility, a nonprofit creative space dedicated to community and social change through art and design.
