The North Texas Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization that manages charitable gifts, has announced an award totaling $32,000 for Arts Fort Worth and Art Tooth. The grant comes through the Donny Wiley Memorial Fund, which was established in 2017 in honor of the life, legacy, and passion for the arts of the fund’s namesake. Ms. Wiley’s sister, Ethel Dodge, created the fund to support emerging artists, encourage artistic expression in adults, and increase appreciation of the arts in Fort Worth.
Rose Bradshaw, president and CEO of the North Texas Community Foundation, shared in a statement: “Arts and culture organizations are critical to the economic success of our region and contribute immeasurably to our sense of community and well-being. We are proud to support organizations that enrich our community and carry on Donny Wiley’s legacy.”
Arts Fort Worth
Arts Fort Worth, formerly Arts Council of Fort Worth, is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1963 to provide funding and leadership of the arts throughout the city. The organization oversees the Fort Worth Public Arts program as well as a physical venue, formerly known as the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, that offers gallery and performance spaces for the community. Arts Fort Worth will use the funds to support a new artist residency program that will provide local emerging visual artists with a monthly stipend to support the production of work over 12 months, a solo exhibition at the culmination of their residency, and studio space with 24/7 access.
Karen Wiley, president and CEO of Arts Fort Worth told Glasstire that the new program will have an open call and applications will be reviewed by four professional artists and art educators. Ms. Wiley said, “I am thrilled. This has been a dream of mine since I joined Arts Fort Worth nearly seven years ago — that we would be able to support artists in any way possible. We have continued to make steps in order to do that, for example, by finding diverse revenue streams so that artists don’t have to pay to exhibit their work. But this is something we have dreamed about — to be able to give a gift of time, space, and a stipend to help with production costs. I am over the moon about this.”
Sarah Ayala in collaboration with Deryk Poynor, “Cuntrol: A Lavish Socioeconomic Ecosystem Controlling the Underfunded.” 2021, Image: Art Tooth
Founded in 2016, Art Tooth is an artist-run nonprofit organization that supports local emerging and mid-career artists through exhibitions and partnerships with businesses and galleries. One of their most visible projects has been Art Tooth at SoMa, a publicly accessible exhibition space housed in a shipping container in Fort Worth’s South Main (SoMa) District. With this grant from the North Texas Community Foundation, the organization will fund a visual artist grant program that will award three local artists funding to create artwork to be exhibited in local businesses.
Shasta Haubrich, Director of Art Tooth told Glasstire, “As a small but mighty art collective, we are excited to have the support of the Donny Wiley Memorial Fund and North Texas Communities Foundation. This grant will have a big impact on our ability to continue our mission to find new and unique ways to support artists at every level in their career in Fort Worth.”
Art Tooth will launch applications for their grant program in mid-February. Follow both Arts Fort Worth and Art Tooth to learn more about these upcoming opportunities.
