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Monthly Archives:June 2023

New Fund: A Road Together

June 08, 2023 by Call for Artists
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on June 7, 2023

From the Field Foundation: In partnership with the MacArthur Foundation, the Field Foundation has launched a new grantmaking program. This program—which we’re calling A Road Together (ART)—is designed specifically for small and mid-sized arts and culture organizations with annual operating budgets up to $1 million and with a strong commitment to equity that are reflective and inclusive of Chicago’s diverse and historically underserved communities. Through this initiative, there will be opportunities to apply for multi-year general operating grants using a participatory grantmaking process, as well as single-year general operating grants outside of the participatory process.

On April 12 & 13, 2023, we held two informational webinars, where Field and MacArthur representatives described our aspiration, working together with future ART grantees, to make a sustainable impact in advancing racial equity by enabling more Chicagoans to dream and flourish while accessing platforms for art and cultural expression.

Learn more and view the webinar recordings here.

Showcase Your Art in Times Square

June 07, 2023 by Uncategorized art grants

International Deadline: November 18, 2023 – Exhibit your art on underground trains, digital billboards, and other platforms. Increase your visibility by exhibiting your artwork on a huge screen in Times Square,…

Docuseries “Inspired” to be hosted by Julian Lennon

June 06, 2023 by Call for Artists

The children of beloved artists can often be overtaken by the shadows they grew up in—none are a more fitting example than Julian Lennon, son of music legend John Lennon. But across the decades, Lennon has remained focused on his own work as a musician and filmmaker, seemingly finding peace with the conflicted legacy of his neglectful father. His latest endeavour, Inspired, looks to showcase the drive Lennon has to see the beauty and artfulness that fuel our world.

 

Inspired, a docuseries examining the ways environments influence contemporary artists, is to be executive produced and hosted by Julian Lennon. Created by filmmaking duo Guto Barra and Tatian Issa and co-produced by New York-based production company Cargo Film & Releasing, Inspired will see Lennon interviewing artists of varying backgrounds and regions to see what shapes them.

 

Adapted from the Brazilian series first directed by Barra and Issa, Geography of Art—which contained such artists as Keith Haring and Georgia O’Keefe—Cargo states that “[t]he series portrays stories of artists that found inspiration in the colors and landscape of an adopted city – and also of creators that kept using their heritage and their home countries as inspiration for decades after leaving that place.”

 

An artist of international exhibitions himself, Julian Lennon clearly finds great inspiration within the framing of this project, evidenced in his discussion with Variety:

“What’s so special about this series is getting to know an artist and the culture of a place through a specific lens — this unique relationship an artist has with a certain place that gets their creative juices going.”

 

Release dates are still not released for Inspired, but it is sure to be an insightful piece riding the recent wave of tight art world docuseries.

FTX seeks return of $550,000 donation to the Met

June 06, 2023 by Call for Artists

The past several years in the art world have been largely denoted by the growing and seemingly unavoidable connection that cryptocurrency and NFTs were having to the industry. The terms became buzzwords across the board and the concept of them seemed almost more prevalent than art itself. While the past year seemed to see an unquestioning acceptance of this new normal within elitist circles, the volatile trajectory of crypto has been marked by a massive downturn—crypto exchange FTX has gone bankrupt and has appealed to the targets of their widespread donations, including the Met, to return their donations.

 

FTX is run by Sam Bankman-Fried, an entrepreneur whose value was estimated to peak at $26 billion, and who in December of 2022 was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the U.S. on the grounds of a veritable laundry list of fraud charges. Bankman-Fried had given donations to various institutions and politicians (generously to Democratic candidates as well as Republicans) to the tune of $93 million. FTX has since been scrambling to recover this amount in order to repay creditors.

 

The company had given the Metropolitan Museum of Art $550,000 in donations this year in two instalments, and the Met appears to have accepted returning these funds. In a filing at the United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, it stated “The Met wishes to return the Donations to the FTX Debtors, and the FTX Debtors and the Met have engaged in good faith, arm’s length negotiations concerning the return of the Donations.”

 

Whether the collapse of FTX spells a larger decline for the crypto world isn’t precisely evident, it certainly highlights the instability of these partners the art world has chosen to embrace. If nothing else, perhaps it might see a distancing in the quick camaraderie between art institutions and the new money mania of the crypto wave.

Did the Barbie movie cause a global pink paint shortage?

June 05, 2023 by Call for Artists

As its release date looms ever closer, the Barbie movie has ever-so-slowly pulled back the veil to confirm for us that this film will be much more than meets the eye. Captivating the public with its bubbly and uniquely stilted energy show in its previews, it makes for a strong contender on the release date it shares with Oppenheimer. The latest oddity to come out about the film—the fact that its production reduced the global supply of pink paint.

 

But is that exactly true?

 

The Barbie movie puts forth a (necessarily) strong visual identity even in just the trailers for the film; one of the primary reasons for this comes from leaning on physical set design over the use of CGI. And with a town of Barbies comes a town of pink—enough to have completely drained the supplies of Rosco’s fluorescent pink paint.

 

While Rosco did in fact run out of the shade, its Dream House-worthy supplies were already low before production on the film had begun. Vice-president of global marketing for Rosco Lauren Proud stated to Los Angeles Times that the company was low on various supplies during the pandemic, and as such they only had so much they could give to the production.

 

A charming tidbit all the same, we should be thankful that there was enough pink in the coffers for the Barbie movie to pull it off. Can you imagine trying to pull off a guest room in salmon?

 

As if.

Hannah Gadsby exhibition “It’s Pablo-matic” riles critics

June 05, 2023 by Call for Artists

Hannah Gadsby made international waves with their unique Netflix stand-up/storytelling hybrid Nanette back in 2018, digging into their history as a comedian, their studies of art history, and the rampant walls of patriarchal hate and violence that surrounded them. Hot on the heels of their most recent special, Something Special, Gadsby has partnered with the Brooklyn Museum to present It’s Pablo-matic: Picasso According to Hannah Gadsby, an exhibition following the thread they’ve pulled throughout their career on bringing to public light the icon’s misogynistic fervour.

 

Gadsby rocketed to international acclaim with their uncompromising and sincere voice, telling of their experience as an artist, art historian, and human within cishet male-dominated spaces in Nanette. They followed this success up with another special, Douglas, as well as a TED Talk, both further expanding on prior thematic concepts and diving into their adulthood diagnosis of autism.

 

In Gadsby’s ongoing discussions of chauvinistic paradigms within the art world and its history, Pablo Picasso crops up as a recurrent figure of ire. An entirely fair target, given the now much more widespread awareness of the cubist’s disdain for women. Through It’s Pablo-matic, Gadsby and the Brooklyn Museum aim to bring together Picasso’s works alongside female artists across the 20th and 21st centuries to examine “the artist’s complicated legacy through a critical, contemporary, and feminist lens, even as it acknowledges his work’s transformative power and lasting influence.”

 

The exhibition, which opened June 2nd and runs till September 24th, hosts this myriad of works—which includes Cecily Brown, Renee Cox, Käthe Kollwitz, and Dindga McCannon, among others—alongside a guided audio tour by Gadsby that lampoons Picasso (or as they seem fond to call him, “PP”) and aims to give the insight of this shifting perspective on the figure’s legacy.

 

Already, the exhibition seems to have become divisive amongst critics. Some, including ARTnews, believe the endeavour to have missed its own point through a lack of representative works from women that emerged alongside Picasso, instead largely still maintaining the focus on his own work, while an NYT critic seemed more irate. But the Brooklyn Museum has held its stance on the importance of It’s Pablo-matic, with museum director Anne Pasternak writing to Art Newspaper: “To those who question whether Gadsby’s voice belongs in this exhibit, I would simply ask: Whose interests are threatened by including it? Or, who benefits from excluding it?”

What We’re Watching: 2023 Rural Investment Strategy Webinar Series: Rural Impact Investing – Part 1: The Who, What, Why and How Foundations are Advancing Rural Justice with Impact Investing

June 02, 2023 by Call for Artists
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on May 30, 2023

From Integrated Rural Strategies Group: Foundations are increasingly considering impact investing as a philanthropic strategy to complement their grantmaking and more fully align their philanthropic assets with their mission-based work. Indeed, supporting foundations to “liberate philanthropic assets” is at the core of NFG’s Theory of Change. Impact investing is a powerful tool to do so, and is a focus of praxis within the NFG and Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions foundation CEO cohort program, Philanthropy Forward. Rural America is home to the highest rates of persistent poverty in the United States, coupled with a history of low philanthropic investment. 

Amongst rural regions, Appalachia, along with the Mississippi Delta and Native American/tribal lands, is one of the highest regions of intergenerational poverty. Invest Appalachia, a new “blended capital” impact investment platform, aims to increase investment into Central Appalachian communities that have been historically impacted by the extraction of the region’s natural resources, underinvestment, and generational poverty. IA’s infrastructure connects community-aligned projects and businesses to creative, flexible capital to absorb risk and leverage additional investment into rural communities. 

IA seeks to circumvent investment and philanthropic practices that often associate rurality with risk, using trust-based philanthropy, creative financing tools, and a partnership-based investment approach to spark transformative change in rural communities. Join us for Part 1 of this two-part series as we explore the who, what, how, and why of impact investing in Appalachia. Part 1 will offer an interactive learning experience about Invest Appalachia’s unique community-centered model and how and why foundations are partnering with IA to liberate their philanthropic assets to bring critical resources to this region.

The webinar will take place on June 6 at 2pm. Learn more and register here.

What We’re Reading: Want more black creatives? Stop cutting arts funding

June 02, 2023 by Call for Artists
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on May 30, 2023

“On Inauguration Day in January 2021, many were left spellbound by Amanda Gorman’s ‘The Hill We Climb.’ As the youngest inaugural poet and first national youth poet laureate, Gorman’s words were both poignant and powerful.” said Marissa Gutierrez-Vicario, Word in Black, for Afro News. “However, as the social media buzz surrounding her delivery began to subside, a critical question arose: how can we ensure that the next generation of Amanda Gormans have the resources they need to succeed?”

“Through the work of artists, cultural institutions, and community-based art organizations like our own, young people’s lives are continuously enriched; be it through the development of a new skill, the creation of their own piece of artwork, or the beautification of a public space after the completion of a youth arts program.” 

“We believe that beyond the pandemic, arts and cultural experiences are going to be the bridge to a vibrant New York City — and to cities and small towns nationwide. Yet in order for all students to get the creative opportunities they need and deserve, cultural agencies need sustained funding for the arts.

According to a March 2023 Bronx News 12 report, the New York City Council has promised a $3 million dollar investment in public schools, which will be split between 120 schools in five boroughs.” 

“It is estimated that principals from each school would receive roughly $24,000 which could go directly into teacher salaries or funding for art materials and art workshops in the classroom.” 

“According to the Daily News, the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens will receive nearly two-thirds of this funding. While this is promising, arts advocates within the city say that the fight is not over yet and that we must continue to advocate for the arts in our community.” 

“While organizations like the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable, which ‘improves, advances, and advocates for arts education,’ [with the purpose to ‘elevate, enhance, and sustain the work of the arts education community’] applaud the current efforts of the New York City Council to prioritize arts education, the final Fiscal 2024 Budget will truly determine the city’s support for the arts.” 

“Even though there has been financial support put into place in the short term, our communities have to advocate to maintain annual funding that is specifically geared towards arts in New York Public Schools. This includes future artists, creatives, visionaries, and cultural workers in a city that regards culture and community as an integral part of our lived experiences.” 

Read the full piece here.

What We’re Watching: Embed a commitment to equity and justice in all aspects of your collective giving work

June 02, 2023 by Call for Artists
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on May 31, 2023

From Philanthropy Together: Addressing injustices in our giving circles and in our communities is complex, challenging, yet necessary work — and we need each other to keep learning and growing, wherever we are in our journeys.

The Equity and Justice in Collective Giving Webinar Series offers monthly content to explore themes that deepen our field’s shared commitment to equity.

Learn more and register for upcoming sessions here.

New Leadership: A Blade of Grass Announces Lu Zhang as Executive Director

June 02, 2023 by Call for Artists
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on June 1, 2023

From A Blade of Grass: We are pleased to announce and welcome Lu Zhang as the organization’s new Executive Director. Zhang will officially assume the position on June 20, 2023.

Zhang currently serves as the Initiatives Director of United States Artists (USA) , a national arts funding organization headquartered in Chicago, where she launched a department dedicated to expanding holistic support for artists and their communities. Prior to joining USA, Zhang was Deputy Director of The Contemporary , a nomadic, non-collecting art museum in Baltimore, Maryland, where she provided strategic and operational oversight, and led resource initiatives for local artists.

In addition to her leadership roles, Zhang has spent her career building services for artists across the country through careful listening, deep research, and community building. Her extensive work across the arts and philanthropic sectors has helped mount national acclaim for initiatives like Artist Relief and Ford Foundation and Mellon Foundation’s Disability Futures .

“Lu has spent her career devoted to centering artists, and, in her work across initiatives like Disability Futures, she is reshaping the next generation of arts through a social lens,” said Margaret Morton, Ford Foundation’s Director of Creativity and Free Expression . “She is an active collaborator, participant, and thought leader for the creative sector, and we look forward to her bringing an informed advocacy and passion to this new role.”

As an artist and arts worker herself, Lu considers artists first and leads from the belief that artists are essential to societal transformation. Among her many skills is her capacity for deep listening and her commitment to learning and growth. Both growing her understanding of specific community needs and the systems that impact those communities. Her creative leadership and willingness to imagine new structures and systems in partnership with artists make her an excellent match for where we are as a board and organization right now.

Much like A Blade of Grass, artists, social justice, and community are at the center of Lu’s value system, adding to the list of reasons that she is the ideal candidate to lead this organization into the future. We look forward to seeing the direction that Lu takes this work and how its indelible mission continues to unfold.
 

Read the full announcement here.