Earlier this month, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts announced its fall 2022 grantees. The foundation awarded 48 organizations over $4 million total in support of programs, exhibitions, and curatorial research. Among the recipients are The Menil Collection and Project Row Houses in Houston and The Contemporary Austin.
In a press release announcing the awardees, Joel Wachs, President of The Foundation, stated, “The Foundation’s grant program recognizes the vital role played by artist-centered organizations, community-oriented spaces, and major museums to amplify the voices and visions of artists. In addition to championing experimental artistic practices, they provide crucial platforms from which artists can contribute to important cultural dialogues.”
The Foundation awards multi-year program grants to support visual arts programming, including residencies, public art works, screenings, performances, lectures, publications, mentorships, and other professional development opportunities for artists. The grants range from $60,000 to $100,000. Both Project Row Houses (PRH) and The Contemporary Austin have received the maximum award.
The installation of Daniel Johnston’s mural at The Contemporary Austin. Image: The Contemporary Austin
According to the press release, The Contemporary will use this funding to “present The Land, an artist-led exploration of the connection between urban development, environmental degradation, labor and resource extraction, and human displacement.” PRH plans to celebrate its 30th anniversary by highlighting the organization’s founders through a series of programs and installations. Additionally, PRH will use a portion of the funds to continue the development of its Archive Project, which aims to document the organization’s history and codify its ways of approaching social practice.
Aerial View of Project Row Houses in 2015. Photo by Peter Molick, courtesy of Project Row Houses.
The Foundation’s grants for exhibition support can be used for solo, two-person shows, or thematic group exhibitions. Specifically, The Foundation seeks to support artists whose work is underrecognized, yet has had a significant impact on current and upcoming generations of artists. These grants also range from $60,000 to $100,000.
Ruth Asawa, “Untitled (S.228, Hanging Six-Lobed, Discontinuous Surface (3 sections) with Interlocked Top Section),” c, 1956. On view at the Menil Drawing Institute, May 2019.
The Menil Collection has received the maximum award in support of its forthcoming exhibition, Ruth Asawa: Drawings. American sculptor Ruth Asawa is best known for her woven organic structures which often feature shapes within shapes. Aside from being a prominent artist whose works are in collections and museums across the world, she also had a lasting impact on generations of artists. In 1968, she co-founded the Alvarado School Arts Workshop, which later became the San Francisco Arts Education Project, an organization still in operation, which provides children with experience in the visual and performing arts. In 1982, she was instrumental in the creation of San Francisco’s first public arts high school, which was renamed in her honor in 2010.
To learn more about the application process for The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts grants, visit the organization’s website.
