In a
major demonstration of its commitment to America’s artists, the Andy Warhol
Foundation for the Visual Arts today announced a ten-year, $10 million grant to
Creative Capital, a foundation providing grants and professional development
support to individual artists. The gift
will provide $1 million a year over the next nine years, and an additional $1
million for cash reserves.
Joel
Wachs, president of the Warhol Foundation, said that in the few short years
since its inception, Creative Capital has become one of the nation’s
pre-eminent funders in its field. Conceived in response to the funding crisis
brought on by the National Endowment of the Arts’ elimination of grants to
individual artists, the Andy Warhol Foundation took the lead in launching a new
organization to provide both grants and support services to worthy artists,
bringing together over thirty private donors, individuals and foundations to
fund Creative Capital for its first five years.
Since
its launch in 1999, Creative Capital has funded 158 noteworthy projects in a
variety of media, including film, photography, painting, sculpture and
performance. In addition to cash grants, it also provides artists with counsel
and assistance for everything from career development and audience building to
financial planning, networking and promotional support.
Wachs
said, “Creative Capital has shown tremendous creativity in the design of its
program, and is also sharing its innovative funding model with other
foundations and organizations nationwide. The new Warhol grant will ensure that
Creative Capital continues its operations over the next decade, serving new generations
of artists in all disciplines.”
In
order to make the grant, the Warhol Foundation’s board voted to increase its
grant budget by 20 %, despite the economic downturn of the past few years. Wachs and board chair, Werner Kramarsky,
said “It is critically important for our nation to recognize its artists, to
value the contributions they make to our society, and to give them the support
they need to create their work.
Creative Capital is an extraordinary example of an organization that
truly understands artists and their needs, and works effectively with them to
help achieve their goals. The Warhol
Foundation is proud to support Creative Capital, and through it, American art
and artists.”
Ruby
Lerner, Creative Capital’s president, added “The paucity of support for
individual artists in this country makes it all the more impressive that a
major foundation like Warhol is willing to make such a big commitment. Creative Capital is honored to receive this
gift, which is a bold and uplifting gesture and a major contribution to the
effort to sustain and protect our nation’s artists.”