The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has awarded a total of $4.1 million to 49 museums and arts organizations through its Fall 2021 grants. Houston nonprofits DiverseWorks, FotoFest, and The Menil Collection are among the recipients.
DiverseWorks. Image: Houston Museum District
Founded in 1982, DiverseWorks commissions, produces, and presents exhibitions, performances, and community programs. Founded in 1983, FotoFest hosts a biennial featuring a portfolio review program, a film and video series, conferences, installations, and publications, as well as year-round educational programming and traveling exhibitions. Each of these longstanding organizations have been awarded program support over a two year time period. DiverseWorks is receiving $100,000 and FotoFest is receiving $80,000.
The Menil Collection, Main Building. Photo by Kevin Keim.
The Menil Collection is one of sixteen organizations that will receive exhibition support. Their funds, totaling $100,000, are earmarked for a multi-channel video installation, The SNCC Manifestoes, by John Akomfrah, which they will co-commission with the Baltimore Museum of Art. Other organizations of note that received exhibition support include the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, PA, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Denver Art Museum, El Museo del Barrio in New York, the San Jose Museum of Art, and the Walker Art Center.
The Foundation was established in 1987, following Warhol’s death. In his will, the artist left most of his estate for the creation of a foundation that would support future generations of artists. Through their various grant programs, the Foundation awards approximately $15 million each year to arts nonprofits. The Multi-year Program Support grant funds exhibitions, residencies, public art works, screenings, performances, lectures, publications, mentorships, and other professional development opportunities for artists. The Exhibition Support grant funds solo, two-person, and group exhibitions that showcase underrepresented artists.
In a press release, Joel Wachs, President of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts stated, “The Fall 2021 grantees are adapting and inventing new ways to meet the needs of artists as they persevere in the face of obstacles that surface every day in these unpredictable times. Artists are at the heart of the Foundation’s work, and it is more important than ever to shore up the organizations that sustain and empower them as they evolve their practices.”
To learn more about upcoming grant opportunities available through the Foundation, visit their website.
