VIA Art Fund

2016 grantees announced and Naomi Beckwith named as inaugural VIA Curatorial Fellow

www.viaartfund.org
Facebook

VIA Art Fund is pleased to announce that it awarded a total of 640,000 USD in grants in FY16, the highest annual total to date, and expanded its grantmaking capacity by introducing two new categories: a curatorial fellowship grant and a general operating support grant for non-profit, experimental organizations and platforms serving the visual arts. 

VIA has named MCA Chicago curator Naomi Beckwith as the recipient of its 2017 inaugural Curatorial Fellowship grant. This annual award aims to support visionary curators by providing discretionary funds for the development of their individual curatorial practice, and engages them in an advisory role during VIA’s grantmaking process. 

In addition to the curatorial fellowship award, in 2016 VIA awarded eight Artistic Production grants in support of nine artists and eight Incubator grants for operating support to nonprofit organizations. 

Among the 2016 grant recipients for Artistic Production grants were production funds for Mark Bradford’s presentation at the US Pavilion of the 57th Venice Biennale; a permanent mural by Barry McGee for the exterior of the Moscone Center Garage in the Yerba Buena district of San Francisco; a newly-commissioned work of art (artist tba) as part of Prospect.4 New Orleans; a new, large-scale video commission by JJ Peet for the exterior of the Berkeley Art Museum and Film Archive; and a permanent installation by Andrea Zittel at High Desert Test Sites in Joshua Tree, CA.

VIA’s newly introduced Incubator grant category has been specifically created to support small to mid-sized nonprofit organizations whose activities are rooted in programs, publications and/or projects that embrace innovation and experimentation, champion new and diverse voices, and cultivate new avenues of thought leadership within the field.  Grant recipients in 2016 include Art 21, Cambridge Arts Council, The Kitchen, and Recess.

VIA donors, comprised of passionate collectors, patrons and private foundations, are partners in the art fund and participate directly and democratically in the grantmaking process. VIA partners meet semi-annually to review and vote on grant proposals accompanied by in-person presentation by artists, curators and institutional professionals. Since 2013, VIA has awarded over 1.85 million USD in grants, supported 44 artistic projects, and gifted seven major artworks to US museums.  


Complete list of VIA Art Fund 2016 Grantees:

Artistic Production grantees
–Andrea Zittel, for the permanent installation Planar Pavilions at A-Z, High Desert Test Sites 
–Baltimore Museum of Art, for Tomorrow is Another Day by Mark Bradford, the official US presentation at the 57th Venice Biennial
–Madison Sq. Art for a public outdoor sculptural exhibition by Josiah McElheny
–Park Avenue Armory for the new commissioned sculptural installation by Taryn Simon
–Sites Unseen, for a permanent mural by Barry McGee, on the exterior of the Moscone Center Garage, located at the Clementina Alley in the Yerba Buena district of San Francisco
–The Trustees of Reservations for two public art projects by Jeppe Hein, and Sam Durant
–UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive for a new large-scale video commission by JJ Peet
–US Biennial/Prospect New Orleans for a newly commissioned work of art for Prospect.4 (artist tba in May 2017) 

Incubator grantees
Art21
The Artist’s Institute
Cambridge Arts Council
Esopus
The Kitchen
Logan Center for the Arts
Recess
SculptureCenter

Curatorial Fellowship 
VIA 2017 Curatorial Fellow: Naomi Beckwith, Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago 

About VIA Art Fund
VIA Art Fund is a 501(c)3 non-profit philanthropic arts organization founded to cultivate and support Visionary Initiatives in Art. VIA’s core grant-making values are Artistic Production, Thought Leadership and Public Engagement. VIA supports the production, exhibition, public dissemination and institutional acquisition of ambitious, rigorous and challenging works of art. Past grantees include artists, curators, art production platforms, non-profit arts organizations, institutions and publication initiatives. VIA’s membership is composed of a network of over 50 individuals and private foundations based across the United States. For more information, please visit viaartfund.org.