Buscada co-founder Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani’s book Contested City was honored by the Municipal Art Society’s Brendan Gill Prize—for a work that that best captures the spirit and energy of New York City—as both a finalist for the prize and with a special designation as a book that has “contributed to greater understanding of the history of our city as well as the primary issues of the day.”
What a night to be back in person for the first time in September 2021! Gabrielle was delighted to be part of an incredible group of honorees. The full group included:
- Prize-winner Julia Wolfe for the oratorio Fire in My Mouth about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
- Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani for Contested City: Art & Public History as Mediation at New York’s Seward Park Urban Renewal Area
- Thomas J. Campanella for Brooklyn: The Once and Future City
- Stanley Greenberg for CODEX New York; Typologies of the City
- Eric K. Washington for Boss of the Grips: The Life of James H. Williams and the Red Caps of Grand Central Terminal.
The Jury Chair John Haworth wrote of Contested City and the three other author honorees:
“In this challenging and especially difficult period in our nation’s history, the Jury recognizes how important the historic record is to inform our lives in the present. In our jury deliberations for the Gill Prize, we were struck by the quality of four books that draw on the historical record of our City in quite special and particular ways. We are proud to honor these four writers with special designation this year. In review of nominated work this year, we saw outstanding contributions to our civic discourse. The Jury with recognizes that—with regret—many political and other leaders do not have an informed understanding of history at a time when such reflection is central to public policy and decision making. We believe these four individuals, through their 2019 works, have contributed to greater understanding of the primary issues of the day.”
