Photograph courtesy Isora Lithgow Creations

Watch a video of the Prize presentation event

produced by Media Factory

A tribute to Will Kasso Condry by author Stephen P. Kiernan

Picture a bohemian dinner party at 189 North Winooski Avenue, the house Herb

Lockwood was renting, 40 years ago. The meal is lentil soup, but with every ingredient you can imagine: potatoes, celery, carrots, chicken, turnips, garlic, onions, curry, and on and on. The blend is delicious.

Afterward, everyone crowds into the tiny living room, and Herb begins to hand out musical instruments. But he has a rule: no one receives an instrument they know how to play. Imagine people trying the flute for the first time, or mandolin, bass, harmonica, guitar.

At first, it’s cacophony. And yet, surprisingly, a rhythm takes shape, notes string together into a melody. In no time at all, music is happening. This is Herb’s bell ringing. Bringing people together, trusting them to experiment and discover, and watching them exceed themselves.

I share this memory because, perhaps more than any prior year, it draws a straight line to this year’s winner of the prize in Herb’s name. The award seeks to recognize two things: a body of work that is far superior to the norm, and a sustained effort to uplift other artists and to build community through art.

The artist winning the prize this year provides the idea for a giant painting, the context, the ingredients, and then the invitation to people to engage, the security for these participants to take risks, and a rock solid faith that the outcome of their effort will be of lasting value. The results are amazing.

This year’s winner works in two forms.

First, he is a former aerosol artist and student of graffiti art who now makes large-scale murals in public places. It has taken western culture many years to recognize and value this sort of work. Keith Haring and Banksy were groundbreakers globally, but now there are – for example – three books of photographs of wall paintings in Burlington. The books matter because they document art that may vanish due to weather, the mural’s wall being knocked down, or vandalism and tagging that disrespects the real thing. The books also display a changing culture. We are learning, even here in mostly rural Vermont. We begin to know better, and it takes artists to lead us.

This year’s winner of the prize was a first-generation college student at The College of New Jersey, where he studied fine art and illustration. Later he was mentored by the legendary graffiti artist Daniel “POSE 2” Hopkins. Subsequently, as an assistant to Dave McShane, a resident artist at Mural Arts Philadelphia, our winner refined his work in large-scale mural production.

His leadership with art involved taking the violence and struggles of his origin

community, exploring the rich history of the African diaspora in America, and using large scale works and bright colors that leap from his murals, to create of what he calls “Afro-futuristic characters” – stories and images of powerful hope and positivity. His murals are explorations of Black identity from the perspective of justice and joy. Those colors and that spirit have a powerful impact, and with the size of his canvases, his style and content are identifiable from a long way off.

His second art form is humanity. He does not make these large-scale works on his own. Instead he invites people, engages them, creates a small village of artists, both experienced and brand new. People local to the work, who will see it nearly every day, are welcomed into the process, from conception to unveiling. The result is a unique artwork for which the whole community shares authorship – and pride. The design and content are dependably brilliant and original, in part because they contain the vulnerability that comes from valuing the contribution of every participant.

In Trenton, he founded an organization to re-imagine the potential of graffiti art, as a tool for inner-city beautification. He founded and led SAGE, a nonprofit arts collective that created dozens of outdoor murals on abandoned buildings in New Jersey. At Princeton University, he worked with students to develop and paint a mural that reflected the college’s changing community. Princeton is far more diverse and energetic than it used to be. How do you tell that story in a work of art?

Then he came to Vermont, where there were lots of ingredients eager to make his kind of soup. This artist worked with students at Burlington High School, for example, to create paintings that they felt reflected both the community and the values they felt were most important to portray. Here’s what the students had to say afterward:

“I have never worked on a mural or done any artwork outside of a class at BHS.

Working with him helped us to make a stronger connection to our classroom values and

learn about the purpose and power of art.”

“It was cool because I had never seen myself as an artistic person, but he made art

more accessible to me. It was a good experience, especially since I’ve never taken an

art class at BHS.”

Our prize winner has also been an artist in residence at the University of Vermont and at Middlebury College. The second of these schools exemplifies how his collaborative approach can be a catalyst. At Middlebury he chose a student as his assistant. She engaged more than a dozen additional students. Together they conceptualized, designed and painted a mural in the college’s resource center, which celebrates and supports the diversity of students through mentoring, events, even a student run hair salon.

The success of that project led to additional paintings in the student center, again with community involvement, and to a student-led project for additional paintings in the alumni center. It’s easy to imagine ten years from now, when wall after wall at thatcollege is enriched with art. Indeed one of the Middlebury murals has a spot set aside, where future participants can add their names.

One of my personal favorites resulted when this artist led a project to paint a mural on the north side of Burlington’s Champlain Elementary School, a portrait of an "afronaut." It involved local benefactors, local artists, and dozens of kids from the King Street Youth Center.

Today you can find this artist’s work at Saint Michael’s College, the Brattleboro Library, Ripton Elementary School, Middlebury Union High School, Waterville Elementary, and North Country Union High School – 40 Vermont locations and counting.

It’s an exceptional collection of lessons, stories and skills. If we imagine Herb, standing back to witness this collaboration, the rich soup of shared hopes, and respect for the artist in everyone, we know that this art – and artistic process – are things he would have loved.

So it is an honor to recognize this utterly unique talent, this creator of artistic community, the winner of the 2025 Herb Lockwood Prize: Will Kasso Condry.

2025 Winner

Will Kasso Condry