Environmental Sustainability: How are Arts Funders Engaging?

Monday, October 19, 2:00pm – 3:15pm

Organized by Grantmakers in the Arts.

Presented by Vickie Benson, Program Director, Arts, McKnight Foundation; Alexis Frasz, consultant, Helicon Collaborative; Jamie Hand, Director of Research Strategies, ArtPlace America; and Risë Wilson, Director of Philanthropy, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

Many arts grantmakers are recognizing that issues of climate change and environmental sustainability are too important to be left to the environmental sectors alone to solve. On the environmental side, many funders and activists are recognizing the power of art and culture to provoke thinking, stimulate compassion, and motivate change in ways that other strategies do not. The session will present highlights from recent research, undertaken by Helicon Collaborative for GIA, about compelling practice in this area by art funders. Three funders will share elements of how they are approaching their cross-sector work. Participants will then be invited to engage in a discussion about their own interests and challenges in this area. The goal will be to understand what is motivating or hindering work at this intersection, and what could be done to support more of it.