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ICYMI: 2023 Funder Pledge for Safety and Security

December 14, 2023 by Call for Artists
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 14, 2023

From Funders for Justice:

Why This Pledge? BIPOC-led groups on the frontlines of social justice fights face sustained attacks from well-resourced, powerful opposition forces, putting their lives and organizations at risk and compromising their ability to secure victories. Movement groups report digital, physical, and psychological security threats; politically motivated attempts to strip them of their nonprofit status; and political prosecutions for their constitutionally-protected activism. At the same time, the BIPOC, queer, trans, and migrant communities in which they organize are also under political attack, facing targeted surveillance and criminalization as well.  

Sadly, these threats are not new. Social justice movements have always been met with vigorous and often violent opposition, dating back to this nation’s origins of slavery and genocide.  In recent years as social justice movements have gained increasing visibility, these threats have gained reinvigorated steam. 

The stakes are high, and the need is great.  We believe that philanthropy’s failure to provide BIPOC-led social justice groups with robust, long-term support has made it nearly impossible for movements to build durable safety and security infrastructure. We have come together with a sense of urgency to align our giving and mobilize a robust philanthropic response that matches the scale, duration, and sophistication of the attacks BIPOC-led social justice groups face.  We encourage our philanthropic colleagues to join us in taking the pledge.

Read the full pledge and learn how to support here.

What We’re Watching: Community Foundations for Just Communities

December 12, 2023 by Call for Artists
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 12, 2023

From the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation: 

Community Foundations for Just Communities
Thursday January 18 from 2-3:30 EST/1-2:30 CST/noon-1:30 MST/11-12:30 PST

Community Foundations can open doors for new ways to support artists and arts organizations.  Donor advised funds (DAFs), collaborations with private foundations, advocacy and lobbying are all aspects that can bring more resources to the field.  

Structurally, Community Foundations have been set up to preserve the status quo – to attract and retain donors. How do/can community foundations question and challenge inequitable practices, address power dynamics and experiment towards just futures?  

This session is a follow-up from our conversation at the November GIA conference in San Juan. The topic will be selected by the participants. Some of the possibilities include:

·  increase access for artists/arts organizations to DAFs and donors, including non-financial support

·  fund individual artists beyond project-based grants by moving into more unrestricted/practice based grants

·  integrate practices of Trust Based Philanthropy to strengthen relationships with our community partners, colleagues, donors, and boards  

·  collaborate with local government to influence cultural policy and practices  

·  work holistically across sectors and issue areas

Please join us as we continue the dialogue and seek ways we can collaborate on creating a more equitable future!  

Feel free to reach out to Sharon DeMark at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation with any questions: sharon.demark@spmcf.org

Zoom link:
https://spmcf.zoom.us/j/88624342437?pwd=5PxAbmuo1Qzp5QqR2onG6gQieE2tsb.1

Meeting ID: 886 2434 2437
Passcode: 743181

What We’re Watching: The Shift: Conversations about Holistic Inclusion with Kellee Edusei

December 12, 2023 by Call for Artists
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 11, 2023

For the final conversation in 2023 for The Shift, Mark will be in conversation with the first woman of color to lead Dance/USA, a service organization for the dance field in its 40-year history. In this conversation, we will discuss how the Board of Directors should and can support women of color in executive leadership positions in the non-profit sector.

The discussion will stream on LinkedIn on Tuesday, December 12 from 2-2:45pm EST. Learn more here.

Fellowship Opportunity: GUTC Leaders Fellowship Program

December 12, 2023 by Call for Artists
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 11, 2023

From Funders for LGBTQ Issues: 

Encouraging funders to increase their grantmaking to transgender communities requires shifting philanthropic culture to be more inclusive and supportive of binary and non-binary transgender and gender non-conforming people as employees, colleagues, and leaders within the sector. Yet transgender people remain woefully under-represented in philanthropy, and trans-specific professional and leadership development opportunities remain rare.

Grantmakers United for Trans Communities (GUTC) develops trans leadership in philanthropy to strengthen the pipeline of trans professionals in the field, with the long-term goal of increasing the number of trans people working and taking leadership in philanthropy. The primary way we do this is through our Grantmakers United for Trans Communities (GUTC) Leaders Fellowship.

Learn more and apply here.

New Fund: The Latino Equity Fund announces $375,000 in grants to 20 Latinx-led and Latinx-serving organizations

December 12, 2023 by Call for Artists
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 11, 2023

From The Boston Foundation: 

The Latino Equity Fund at the Boston Foundation (LEF) today announced $375,000 in grants to 20 Latinx-serving organizations in Massachusetts. The grants, made through an open request for proposals in September, bring the total grantmaking from the Fund to over $1.8 million since 2013, with $692,000 being distributed this calendar year, making 2023 the largest giving year for LEF.

“We are a small but mighty fund, and we know the need is urgent for Latinx-serving organizations. We are committed to raising additional funds and expanding our grantmaking further next year,” said Javier Juarez, who became the Latino Equity Fund’s director in February. “I am proud of the work happening at LEF. As the only fund dedicated to Latinos in Massachusetts, we have a special responsibility in philanthropy, and it is my role to continue building partnerships that will increase our impact year to year. The time to support Latinos is now, and we are ready to lead the way.”

The Latino Equity Fund, a unique partnership between local Latinx leaders and the Boston Foundation, is the first Latinx-focused fund in the Commonwealth. The LEF uses its influence and platform to amplify diverse voices and perspectives within the Latinx community in Greater Boston and the state, with a focus on achieving greater and more equitable access to economic prosperity and well-being.

“The Latino Equity Fund is a powerful force for change. The Fund is breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for Latinos to thrive. It’s a transformative investment in the Commonwealth’s future.” said  Aixa Beauchamp, who co-founded the Latino Equity Fund in 2013 and continues to co-chair the Fund’s Advisory Board.

“I’m particularly excited about the organizations we’re supporting this year as they truly reflect the Latino Equity Fund’s renewed focus on economic prosperity and health equity,” added Juan Lopera, co-chair of the Latino Equity Fund Advisory Board.

Learn more here.

ICYMI: As Calls Mount for Ceasefire, Philanthropy Struggles to Find Its Voice

December 12, 2023 by Call for Artists
Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 11, 2023

From Northern California Grantmakers: 

Northern California Grantmakers recognizes we are witnessing a key moment in the history between Palestine and Israel. The violence is not occurring in a vacuum and this moment requires us to deepen our analysis. The fear, heartbreak, and trauma surrounding this crisis is generational, deeply polarizing, and challenges finding a resolution. But action is critical as the situation in Gaza worsens by the hour, leading to mounting calls for an immediate ceasefire. The human cost of the past weeks is almost unfathomable, and we fear what is to come if the violence continues. Given this, the volume of conversation in our sector has not matched the severity of the issue.  

NCG is here to support philanthropy in finding its voice as we and many others in the sector are struggling to do so. The clearest immediate actions philanthropy can take are to learn, use its institutional voice to prevent further violence, and provide resources that support humanitarian aid.  

We have compiled the following resources to share action items, promote education around the crisis, address harmful narratives, and provide funding options that have emerged thus far. As we identify more resources that can support your institution’s journey, we will update this list. 

Access the full list here.

Ai Weiwei’s Lego classics are much more than playful reproduction

December 10, 2023 by Call for Artists

Art Basel has become the annual mecca for the year’s oddball artistic offering. From Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian to MSCHF’s ATM Leaderboard, it is a home for statements in surprising formats. While there has seemingly been a lack of a true headline-maker with intrigue buzzing for it, there’s still a spirit of playfulness to be found in the likes of Ai Weiwei’s Lego masterpieces.

 

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist, human rights activist and dissident with a history of speaking out against the regime in his country. This thread in his life traces back to his father, poet Ai Qing, who was exiled to Shihezi in 1961 and forced into physical labour due to his “rightist” values, resulting in a hard life for his family. Ai was arrested in 2011 on several counts of “economic crimes” and detained for months without an official charge. He came out of the experience all the more vocal in his works as a documentarian, architect, and modern artist, his practice encompassing film, photography, and sculpture and his works often depicting a dichotomy of his home country through repurposed Chinese historical objects in modern socio-political contexts.

 

Now, a massive recreation of Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus adorns the walls of Art Basel, built brick by brick. It is joined by a recreation of Emanuel Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware. Ai Weiwei’s Lego works are an interesting offering in the artist’s history, whose pieces often have a stark essence and muted palette to them. Yet these works, striking in the same compositional manner that their originals are, are given a jolt of playful essence just by the awareness of their core material.

 

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Ai Weiwei; courtesy of Yahoo.

 

But it isn’t for the sake of entertainment that he is using the classic children’s toy for these projects. Having first started working with Lego in 2014, he sought to meld the grand air of these historically significant works and the consumerist modernism inherent to the iconic toy bricks. What’s more, these are not true replications, as Ai has put his own statements in each—a clothes hanger next to Venus, indicative of abortion rights, and Beijing’s National Stadium in the distance from Washington, speaking to his experience designing the building only to have it spur on intense security operations, as well as the Chinese/America relations.

 

Certainly not evoking the same essence of mischievous play that we’ve seen the last few years at Art Basel, Ai Weiwei’s Lego recreations are perhaps indicative of a positive trajectory. Utilization of novel techniques in an attempt to speak to pertinent current issues, and not easily overshadowed by their form. With the vice grip of NFT culture finally loosening and a desire for substance in dire times, Ai’s work may be just what this year’s event needed.

Amazon cuts ties to The Cheech Centre over critical art

December 10, 2023 by Call for Artists

In a regular reminder that mega-corporations and arts funding are not an ideal mixture, Amazon has cut ties and scrapped their ongoing funding of The Cheech Marin Centre for Chicano Art at the Riverside Art Museum. With word getting out via a leaked document for the company’s 2024 PR and business plans, it is evident that Amazon did not take kindly to the Centre’s exhibition of works critical (well, maybe a bit more than critical) of their methods.

 

The Cheech of course gets its name from beloved comic actor Cheech Marin, one half of the legendary duo Cheech and Chong, who has become an avid collector of Chicano art. With his collection of Chicano art hailed as possibly the largest in the world, it’s unsurprising that the museum, located in Riverside, California, would want to honour the entertainer and collector—especially after gifting them work. Since its opening in 2022, The Cheech has secured support en masse from the enthusiastic public as well as the city of Riverside and the state of California, to the tune of $800,000 annually and over $10 million, respectively.

 

But Amazon, who was only granting them a humble sum of $5,000, has put an end to their support due to the work of University of California student Toni Sanchez and her piece BURN THEM ALL DOWN. Displayed as part of the exhibition “Life Logistics”, the work had little beyond the title itself displayed—save for images of burning Amazon warehouses. It’s a simple piece with a clear message of resistance in the face of the corporate titan’s presence in the area via warehouses. In the leaked documents, it stated that the final decision to cut ties stemmed from Sanchez giving “an interview expressing hostility towards Amazon.”

 

The Riverside Art Museum and The Cheech have held strong in their support of the artist, museum director Drew Oberjuerge stating “We believe in supporting artists and curators who challenge, surprise, delight, annoy and anger. It’s through this dialogue we better understand our shared experience.” With Amazon’s ended donations being a drop in the bucket compared to the support they have, there is clearly no fiscal or ideological loss for the centre. They’re well-positioned to carry on with the intent of Marin’s words on the centre’s direction: “We have something wonderful to give.”

Has Banksy’s name really been revealed as “Robert Banks”?

December 09, 2023 by Call for Artists

The identity of the infamously elusive Banksy, ever a hot topic in the art world, has been buzzing for the last while thanks to ongoing legal battles for the artist. This has unsurprisingly spurred an increase in speculation on the artist’s identity based on various threads of explanation and has resulted in some publications stating Banksy’s identity has finally been revealed. But how much weight do we give to the idea of “Robert Banks” as a real monicker?

 

Citing a recently unearthed interview from BBC, a conversation between Banksy and interviewer Nigel Wrench in which Wrench asks the artist if his name is “Robert Banks” and the artist responds “It’s Robbie,” multiple publications are now jumping on the idea that the name of the beloved graffiti artist has finally been discovered.

 

While there may be truth in the Rob part of the artist’s name (given both this evidence as well as the fact that two of the most stated possibilities for Banksy’s identity are Robert Del Naja and Robin Gunningham) it doesn’t seem all that likely that this mystery has come to its conclusion. Banksy has exhibited a history of meticulous planning around his work to maintain his anonymity, and even if it was earlier in his career with less of a scope of how influential he would become, it feels out of character to have such a slip-up in an interview.

 

But more pressingly…

Rob Banks? Really??

 

So far the claims of Banksy’s name being nailed down are nothing more than speculation. But given the ongoing legal battles he’s had and the sheer ramp-up of intrigue around unveiling the artist behind the works, it seems like only a matter of time before his identity, Robert Banks or otherwise, finally comes to light.