Grantmakers in the Arts

The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture announced a new countywide Cultural Policy that provides direction and guidelines for how the LA County and its departments "will ensure that every resident of LA County has meaningful access to arts and culture."

Belonging in Oakland: A Just City Cultural Fund is a new multi-year program that will fund Oakland cultural practitioners of color to radically reimagine a racially just city, according to the recent announcement.

"Racial equity is about shifting power and resources. It involves dismantling AND rebuilding systems," said Angelique Power, president of The Field Foundation of Illinois in a recent interview with La Piana Consulting.

South Arts launched recently the South Arts Resilience Fund, a part of the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund. Through this fund, states the announcement, South Arts will provide grants of $30,000 - $100,000 "supporting the long-term resilience of under-resourced, visionary, and impactful" arts and culture organizations across the nine-state primary service area of AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, and TN.

It’s a great holiday to be sharing with each of you today, Juneteenth! As we gather – remotely – to honor and celebrate the power and jubilation of this day, liberation for ancestors and elders, we hope to echo the voices and experiences of Black artists who have brought us joy, made us feel seen, challenged, supported, and taught us so much. We come here with deep gratitude and deeper commitment to investing in a future of liberation for Black peoples everywhere.

"This time, our sector must make a long-term commitment to fund grassroots organizations working to end anti-Black racism and state-sanctioned violence," details a recent statement from Borealis Philanthropy responding to the urgent conversations around anti-Black racism and police brutality.

Throughout this resource hub, we aim to amplify funds and resources that explicitly center Black artists, cultural communities, and experiences. Additionally, we borrow a lens from the BIPOC project¹ that centers Black and Indigenous folks - whose experiences shape relationships for all ALAANA/POC people’s relationships with white supremacy culture – as another dimension of resource and financial investment intended to realize justice.

We at Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) continue our call to funders to commit to Black communities through action and, importantly, investment! We join the call of our colleagues at ABFE, A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities, and many others to support the Movement for Black Lives' demand to invest in Black communities.