Grantmakers in the Arts

“The very essence of philanthropy is to not accept the world as it is, but to demand and work toward the world as it should be. Too often, though, philanthropy fails to achieve this goal and ends up as a mirror of what is happening in society rather than as a prism previewing a better future,” state Anne Price and Jhumpa Bhattacharya in Non Profit Quarterly.

“Although major cultural institutions, businesses and organizations have made renewed commitments to supporting arts organizations led by BIPOC leaders since 2020, Black-owned art galleries and collections have long played a central role in diversifying the art market and acquiring artwork of artists from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds,” purports Sabrina Greig in NewCity Art.

“American philanthropies, museums and universities have accepted millions of dollars from tycoons aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including several who are the targets of Western sanctions, according to an analysis by anti-corruption researchers,” reported Peter Whoriskey in The Washington Post.

“We offer our story as one example (amongst many) of what it can look like to answer the call to fund racial justice. Five years ago, we at the Pink House Foundation (PHF)—a small family foundation based in Washington, D.C.—set out to explore what it could look like to redefine philanthropy with justice at the center,” report Hanna Mahon and Luke Newton Newton in Inside Philanthropy.

Edirin Oputu from Temple News interviewed Linda Earle, associate graduate director in the Art History Department for the arts management MA at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture. Oputu summarized, “We spoke with her about how organizations and artists can push for greater equity, how the arts scene is developing and what needs to be done to bring about institutional change.”

“Everyone in philanthropy can potentially play a role in supporting transformative racial justice work," remarks Lori Villarosa, founder and executive director, Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE) in a piece for PEAK Grantmaking blog. "But to unlock that potential, each person needs to apply racial equity and racial justice lenses to all aspects of their work. And grants professionals can be a driving force by both shifting practice and ensuring that the organization is impactfully looking at its work through both lenses.”

Robin D. G. Kelley shares "Back to the Future: Complex Movements Make Revolution," an essay from memory on a conversation with 2022 Knight Arts + Tech Fellows Complex Movements in Shift Space 2.0, a publication exploring new media landscapes. Kelley recollects, "Radical philosopher Grace Lee Boggs (1915–2015) was the catalyst for Complex Movements, which took its name in 2010 after listening to her invoke quantum theory to explain new directions in organizing."

"Grants management professionals are strategically positioned to influence a funder’s racial equity and racial justice funding. But in three decades of working in and with foundations, I have consistently seen a pattern where people serving in these roles are excluded from these conversations as a matter of institutional habit," writes Lori Villarosa, founder and executive director, Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE), in PEAK Grantmaking Journal, issue 19. "As a result, there is a lack of understanding across the field about how the work of grants management directly relates to advancing racial equity and justice."