VIA Art Fund is pleased to announce that it has awarded grants totaling 310,000 USD during the first half of 2017 for contemporary visual arts projects, directly supporting over 50 artists, writers and curators and 9 visual arts organizations and platforms. The selected projects stand out for their generative spirit, meaningful impact and pioneering vision beyond the confines of traditional exhibition environments.
VIA President Bridgitt Evans, stated: "We are thrilled to fund over 300,000 USD in grants to support new work by groundbreaking artists and independent organizations for projects that may not otherwise have come to fruition given the current state of public funding for the arts. Each of these innovative projects is exemplary of our guiding principles of artistic production, thought leadership, and public engagement; and represents the enterprising and visionary spirit we work tirelessly to champion. I wish to thank our partners, who continue to demonstrate immense generosity and philanthropic commitment to the VIA mission, and look forward to our next round of grants this fall."
Among the spring 2017 grant recipients for Artistic Production were William Pope.L’s sound installation and performance for documenta 14 taking place in both Athens and Kassel; a site-specific nomadic installation in Los Angeles by artist Jose Dávila for the Getty Foundation's PST: LA/LA initiative presented by LAND; a residency and performance by artist Ann Carlson taking place in the Gallatin Valley, Montana presented by Mountain Time Arts; and the first ever US retrospective exhibition of German artist Charlotte Posenenske opening Fall 2018 at Dia:Beacon.
Incubator grants totaling 45,000 USD were awarded to support New York organizations Independent Curators International and Triple Canopy and New Orleans based Antenna. The recently created Incubator grants category supports small to mid-size nonprofit organizations whose activities are rooted in programs, publications and/or projects that embrace innovation, experimentation, progress and risk; champion new and diverse artistic voices; and cultivate new avenues of thought leadership within the field.
Complete list of VIA Art Fund spring 2017 grantees:
Artistic Production grantees
Dia Art Foundation, for the exhibition Charlotte Posenenske: A Retrospective, and the accession of the produced works into the Dia Art Foundation permanent collection
documenta 14, for Whispering Campaign by William Pope.L, presented at both Athens, Greece and Kassel, Germany
LAND (Los Angeles Nomadic Division), for a public outdoor installation by Jose Dávila as part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative
Mountain Time Arts, for a performative project and installation Symphonic Body / Water Work by Ann Carlson with participation of Gallatin Valley residents
Storm King Art Center, for the site-specific installation The Oracle of Lacuna by Heather Hart
The Walker Art Center, for a public performance and exhibition of Daniel Buren’s Voile/Toile – Toile/Voile and the accession of work into the Walker’s permanent collection
Incubator grantees
Antenna, New Orleans
Independent Curators International, New York
Triple Canopy, New York
About VIA Art Fund
VIA Art Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit 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, nonprofit 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.
