Solange was honored with the 2018 Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year distinction. Past winners have included Salma Hayek, Eva Longoria, Queen Latifah, Viola Davis, Shakira, John Legend and Jackie Chan.
Each year, the Artist of the Year selection is voted on by students and faculty of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations. According to its website, the foundation aims to “improve relations among racial and ethnic groups within the University and to enhance the quality of our common life.” The award will be presented on March 3rd as part of the Cultural Rhythms Festival, an annual event put on by the Harvard Foundation that features “student performances and ethno-cultural cuisine from over 30 student organizations.”
Solange released the album A Seat at the Table in 2016. In the time following, she has taken a more unconventional touring route by putting a focus on museum spaces like the Guggenheim as settings for her music. She showed off her directing skills when she directed the gorgeous video for SZA’s breakout song “The Weekend” back in December. More recently, she announced her struggle with an autonomic disorder that forced her to cancel a New Year’s Eve show as part of South Africa’s AfroPunk Festival. “It’s a complicated diagnoses, and I’m still learning so much [about] myself, but right now, my doctors are not clearing me for such an extended lengthy flight,” she wrote in a lengthy Instagram post explaining the cancellation.
