A Statement from Grantmakers in the Arts on the violence against Asian American communities
We at Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) must express our grief at the loss of 18 innocent lives and injuring 10 others in the shootings at Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay this January. It is especially devastating as Lunar New Year celebrations are a time for joy and family, culture and community.
This violence against the Asian American community – which has been a strategic practice from before the Chinese Exclusion Act and which has seen a horrific rise throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – is a literal example of the reason that GIA advocates for racial justice in arts funding – to support the expression and full humanity of Asian people who have been dehumanized, in ways both subtle and direct, by our public and private institutions throughout our country’s history, and still to this day.
Read the full statement.
Welcome Grantmakers in the Arts’ New Members!
GIA is pleased to introduce our new members, Anima Mundi Fund, City of Beaverton, Darryl Chappell Foundation, and Dramatists Guild Foundation.
Welcome!
Register for GIA’s 2023 Racial Equity Workshops by February 17
Our Racial Equity in Arts Funding Workshops include information on the history of racialization in the United States, the history of cultural funding, and real-world stories of success and examples of racial equity funding, strategies, and resources you may bring with you back to your organizations.
The workshops are facilitated by Jonny Altrogge from True North EDI, and by GIA team members Eddie Torres, president & CEO; Nadia Elokdah, vice president & director of programs; and Sherylynn Sealy, senior program manager, and include first-person lessons from guest speakers from the grantmaking field.
GIA’s workshop will be delivered as 4 three-hour modules with series available in March and May.
Learn more and register by February 17 to participate.
Join us for GIA’s Annual Research on Support for Arts and Culture Part 1
Join us on February 28 at 11am PT (2pm ET) for a presentation from National Assembly of State Arts Agencies’ Nakyung Rhee, Ryan Stubbs, and Mohja Rhoads. They will share a summary of key findings and insights into what these findings reveal about the current public sector arts grantmaking environment, as well as an introduction to what we can expect for the new year.
Register for the webinar.
GIA Reader Guest Editor Series on Liberation: On Being
Meena Malik, vocalist, arts consultant, cultural organizer, and GIA Reader guest Editor offers an opening frame for a collective of articles, poetry, music, short films, and artistic practices that each, in their own ways, bring clarity to the questions: What does practicing liberation look like for you? What does liberation look like in process/in practice?
Artist Rebecca Mwase shares her piece On Being, reflecting on her creative practice and liberation through art. “What liberation looks like to me now is exercising these truths in daily life for myself and my child. So I am here being present and fully expressed in my body. I am making a home for myself. I am investing in relationships that anchor and tether me back home; ones where we are alongside each other engaging, supporting and loving ourselves into re-membering who we truly are. I am making containers for art and play and life crafted with love and rooted in freedom that can adapt to the multitude of transformations that will happen over the lives of myself, my little one, and those we are in community with.”
Read the full piece at the Reader and look out for all 10 pieces to be shared throughout the winter.
Photo Courtesy: Threewalls | Credit: Sophie Lopez
Threewalls enters its 20th year this summer, and it's an incredible moment to reflect on who they are as an organization that has been reimagined to be a Black art space that centers ALAANA artists' and creatives' humanities. Instead of following the tradition of looking back, when acknowledging a milestone year, they are reflecting on today and continuing to plant seeds for the future. Some of this includes preparing for the inaugural In-Session fellowship Spring salons that will offer conversations and activations based on the theme "call and response," their citywide public art installation Dreaming of a Future, which commemorates our 20th year and looks to the future, and developing our living wage policy for Threewalls...
From the California Black Freedom Fund: "We, the undersigned, lead philanthropic institutions throughout California that came together to seed and establish the California Black Freedom Fund. Established just two and a half years ago following the brutal murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and countless others, the California Black Freedom Fund was created to mobilize the resources necessary to build Black power and eradicate systemic and institutional racism..."
"Like you, I’ve been thinking about the police brutally murdering Tyre Nichols in Memphis, the latest in the countless murders of Black people by the police," said Vu Le for Nonprofit AF. "I’m thinking of Tyre Nichols, who loved skateboarding and photography and who had a son a little younger than my six-year-old, and I’m thinking of his family, whom he was just trying to get home to. I cannot imagine their pain..."
"What if I told you that we all possess the power to heal and transform how trauma manifests in our bodies? Further, music, art, and creative expressions are portals through which we can activate our power to heal," said Nineequa Blanding for Nonprofit Quarterly. "According to Dr. Sará King— neuroscientist, medical anthropologist, and founder of Mind Heart Consulting—'we actually have been imbued with superpowers' that enable healing. In her opening comments during a session entitled 'Art, Music, and Science as Catalysts for Healing & Transformation,' she expressed her interest in exploring the ways our bodies have been designed to support our capacity to heal..."
