Simmons has been the subject of exhibitions both nationally and internationally, including the institutional survey “Gary Simmons: Public Enemy” at both the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the Pérez Art Museum Miami; solo exhibitions at the Henry Museum of Art, Seattle; California African American Museum, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, Fort Worth; and Kunsthaus Zürich. Selected group exhibitions include Museum of Modern Art, New York; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; among others. Simmons was featured in Thelma Golden’s landmark 1994 “Black Male” exhibition at the Whitney Museum of Art in New York, Franklin Sirmans′ 2014 Prospect New Orleans Biennial, and “All the World’s Futures,” curated by Okwui Enwezor for the 2015 Venice Biennale.

In 2021, Simmons was appointed a National Academician from the National Academy of Design. He is the recipient of the Joyce Alexander Wein Prize, Studio Museum of Harlem; USA Gund Fellowship; Penny McCall Foundation Grant; and InterArts Grant, National Endowment for the Arts.

As the keynote speaker for SVA’s commencement exercises, Simmons will join a distinguished group of leaders in the arts, humanities and public service, including Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario, cultural icon and filmmaker John Waters, musician and poet Patti Smith, activist and author Gloria Steinem, U.S. Congressman and civil-rights hero John Lewis, cultural critic Greil Marcus, artists Laurie Anderson and Carrie Mae Weems, playwrights Edward Albee and Tony Kushner, and historian Robert A. Caro.

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The ceremony will celebrate the achievements of some 1,137 undergraduate and graduate degree candidates.