2022 GIA Conference: Call for Sessions

Grantmakers in the Arts welcomes you back to NYC – occupied Munsee Lenape, Wappinger, Canarsie, Lekawe, and Matinecock lands and hometown to GIA since 2018 – for our annual conference! Since we’ve gathered last, we’ve witnessed the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, demands for justice for Black lives, and a history of racial inequity that remains unreconciled.

This city is one we look to for energy and inspiration, but while we do this, the creators who supply that source of relief at the end of a long day are succumbed to the inequities of the labor force, affordable space and access, asset ownership, and the nonprofit industrial complex. How are we, as stewards of wealth and holders of power, using our imaginations to build a present and future that will redress past and present struggle?

These unprecedented reverberations have taken tolls on all of us, on our health and environment, on our tolerance and capacity for uncertainty. We believe the vibrance and creativity of NYC keeps us feeling, dreaming, fighting for new futures. What can we make possible by gathering, attending to both grief and joy, and committed to moving forward together?

Join us this October as we reunite to reimagine the present and the future of arts and culture.

What Is the Shape of the 2022 GIA Conference?

As GIA prepares to host the 2022 annual conference in NYC (occupied Munsee Lenape, Wappinger, Canarsie, Lekawe, and Matinecock lands and hometown to GIA since 2018) we’d are eager to share the intentions of this year’s plan for a hybrid conference.

In our planning for another conference year, we are leaning into the questions: what does it mean to gather in this time? How are we attending to our grieving and healing? How are we organizing for the futures we need? What offerings can we presence in being together now?

We deeply value the strength and solidary of being convened together and as we collectively wrestle with the ever-changing realities of the coronavirus pandemic, we know we are more effective when we are organizing in solidarity with each other and convening our shared mission of supporting a thriving and just culture.

About the Hybrid Conference

The 2022 GIA Annual Conference will gather nationally in-person and virtually. The in-person track will span from October 9-12. The virtual track will also take place in October. Additional details are forthcoming. Continue to revisit this page for updates.

We are excited to offer the 2022 conference in this hybrid format as an opportunity to gather together while also committing to make the conference available to our full membership and the arts funding field regardless of how they may participate.

We’re excited to organize new opportunities to support our national and international communities to participate in the virtual conference.

For those joining the conference in person, we will be following local requirements and CDC-recommended safety precautions including: social distancing, vaccination and testing protocols, and requiring the wearing of face masks regardless of vaccination status.

For those joining the conference online, all keynote events and performances will be streamed live to our online conference platform and a slate of online sessions will be curated for remote participants.

Here is some information that may be useful to know before you submit. Please read carefully.

How to Propose Conference Sessions

1. Review the GIA Conference Session Guidelines for information about types of sessions, session priorities, travel and honoraria policies, ticket fees, and other important guidance for a successful session proposal submission.
2. Log in to your account on the GIA website and select the 2022 Conference Proposal Form link on the left. Submit the form no later than Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 5pm EDT. For assistance with user accounts, click the Create new account or Request new password links on the login page or contact the GIA team at gia@giarts.org.
3. After the conference committee has selected the sessions, we will contact session organizers individually to ask for more details. The GIA team and conference committee will work with session organizers, as appropriate, to identify any local resources needed.