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Philanthropy and Funding

Content in this section engages with ideas around philanthropy and arts funding around the world. For a look at the United States, start with Grantmakers in the Arts conference or, for a global perspective, check out essays from Romania, Mexico, and Canada.

The Latest

That Which We Call a Struggle: A Response to Ife Olujobi’s “$5000”
Essay
That Which We Call a Struggle: A Response to Ife Olujobi’s “$5000”
by Chris Myers
5 February 2024
New York City Grantmakers in Conversation
Video
New York City Grantmakers in Conversation
The People Behind the Portal
Tuesday 24 October 2023
New York City
The Artistic Caucus: How Four Theatres Joined Forces to Disrupt Curatorial Practices
Essay
The Artistic Caucus: How Four Theatres Joined Forces to Disrupt Curatorial Practices
by Lauren Halvorsen
13 July 2023
Chris Myers sits at a table at the East Village Zine fair.
That Which We Call a Struggle: A Response to Ife Olujobi’s “$5000”
Essay

That Which We Call a Struggle: A Response to Ife Olujobi’s “$5000”

5 February 2024

Theatremaker and political educator Chris Myers writes a companion piece to Ife Olujobi’s “$5000.” He explains the structural reasons behind Ife’s struggle to gain more money for playwrights, why this struggle belongs to us all, and the organizing it will take to change it. 

event poster for the fall forum grantmakers in conversation panel.
New York City Grantmakers in Conversation
Video

New York City Grantmakers in Conversation

The People Behind the Portal

Tuesday 24 October 2023
New York City

Far from being anonymous evaluators sitting behind a grant portal, grantmakers have an invaluable perspective regarding emergent trends, innovative solutions, and field-wide stumbling blocks. This panel, moderated by ART/New York co-executive director Talia Corren, assembles leading New York theatre funders to pull back the curtain on the peer-to-peer conversations happening in grantmaking circles.

Collage of the headshots for the members of the Artistic Caucus.
The Artistic Caucus: How Four Theatres Joined Forces to Disrupt Curatorial Practices
Essay

The Artistic Caucus: How Four Theatres Joined Forces to Disrupt Curatorial Practices

13 July 2023

Lauren Halvorsen reports on the origins, development, and learnings of the Artistic Caucus, a collaborative initiative between four regional theatres. By employing a racially and geographically diverse collective of freelance artists to identify new work, scout projects, and facilitate relationships on behalf of all four theatres, the Artistic Caucus seeks to disrupt traditional curatorial practices.

The cast of a show grouped together on stage under multiple lights.
Vamos a inventarnos algo / Let's Make Something New
Essay

Vamos a inventarnos algo / Let's Make Something New

13 June 2023

Theatremaker Eric Swartz sits down with Rosalba Rolón, co-founder and artistic director of Pregones/PRTT, to discuss ensemble-based theatre, mentorship across generations, and their work to sembrar una semilla—to plant a seed and work to make it grow.

Two men posing for a picture in front of a wall that reads "Experimental Theater".
Ripples of Legacy in California’s Latinx Theatres
Essay

Ripples of Legacy in California’s Latinx Theatres

12 June 2023

Richard Falcon and Fran Astorga discuss the need for inclusive spaces that led to founding their own companies, the road blocks they've pushed against, and the legacy they hope to create as part of the teatro field.

From the Ground Up Podcast Teaser image featuring guest profile image.
Ontroerend Goed’s Participatory Metaphors
Podcast

Ontroerend Goed’s Participatory Metaphors

24 May 2023

Artistic director of Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed, Alexander Devriendt talks through their process for imagining and developing participatory content. Alexander and Jeffrey Mosser also dig into financing art in Europe, the cost of touring internationally and how COVID has affected it, and sustaining family and art simultaneously.

Two people standing in front of a lit whiteboard with an audience.
A Living Intergenerational Conversation
Essay

A Living Intergenerational Conversation

9 May 2023

Star Finch and Ellen Sebastian Chang, friends and artistic collaborators in the Bay Area, have a conversation about their local theatre scene’s recent but long overdue racial reckoning, scraping together a creative life, the institutionalization of artists, and more.

From the Ground Up Podcast Teaser image featuring guest profile image.
Philanthropies, Foundations, and Boards (Oh, Wow)
Podcast

Philanthropies, Foundations, and Boards (Oh, Wow)

26 April 2023

Since the “great pause,” funders have shifted their giving models. Ben Cameron has seen it from every side—and he talks all about it. Through anecdotes about his experiences at organizations from Theatre Communications Group to the Jerome Foundation, Ben offers many insights into how ensemble fits in a thriving theatre ecosystem.

From the Ground Up Podcast image featuring Miranda Wright.
Ensemble as Contemporary Commentary
Podcast

Ensemble as Contemporary Commentary

19 April 2023

Miranda Wright, producer and executive director at Los Angeles Performance Practice, and Jeffrey Mosser discuss how Miranda has developed a presenting organization for sharing ambitious, collaboratively created work over the last ten years, as well as what she’s learned from some major arts funding research.

A performer standing under spotlights on a stage in front of an audience.
The Closing of San Francisco’s “Anti-Theatre” Theater Venue
Essay

The Closing of San Francisco’s “Anti-Theatre” Theater Venue

18 April 2023

Artist and producer Rose Oser interviews Rob Ready and Duncan Wold about the closing of PianoFight, the San Francisco company and venue they co-founded that shuttered in March 2023.

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre teaser image with the title at the top and a picture of the guest in the middle.
Developing Genuine Malawian Theatre on Stage and on the Radio
Podcast

Developing Genuine Malawian Theatre on Stage and on the Radio

14 December 2022

Fumbani Innot Phiri Jr. interviews playwright and director Inno Katz about his career and his efforts to redefining Malawian theatre by focusing on local stories in both English and Chichewa.

Teaser image for Season 1, Episode 5 of Critical Stages In Malawian Contemporary Theatre featuring the headshot of Bright Phumayo Chayachaya.
Building an Audience for Malawian Political Theatre
Podcast

Building an Audience for Malawian Political Theatre

22 November 2022

Bright Phumayo Chayachaya’s Umunthu Theatre pulls together political theatre, poor theatre, theatre for development, and educational theatre to create productions that centralize Malawian narratives. In this interview, he discusses the company’s genesis and the need to bring audiences back to theatre.

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre teaser image with the title at the top and a picture of the guest in the middle.
Theatre Academics
Podcast

Theatre Academics

A Conversation with Roselyn Madalo Dzanja

2 November 2022

As a scholar, educator, and practitioner of theatre, Roselyn Madalo Dzanja knows Malawi’s theatrical landscape well. In this interview, she discusses challenges Malawian women face when pursuing an acting career, the need for artistic independence from international donors, possibilities for Chichewa-language drama, and more.

Three people posing for a picture together in front of a window overlooking the city.
Moving at the Speed of Trust: Two Theatres, One Playwright-in-Residence
Essay

Moving at the Speed of Trust: Two Theatres, One Playwright-in-Residence

24 October 2022

Star Finch sits down with artistic director of Crowded Fire Theater Mina Morita and co-founder of Campo Santo Sean San Jose to discuss their innovative idea to collaborate for the National Playwright Residency Program.

From the Ground Up Podcast image featuring Colleen Hughes.
Fiscal Sponsorship and the Path to Non-Profit Status
Podcast

Fiscal Sponsorship and the Path to Non-Profit Status

19 January 2022

What does fiscal sponsorship do for you and your organization? Colleen Hughes, associate director of programming at Fractured Atlas, walks us through the broad array of opportunities they provide. She’ll also shed light on fundraising trends she’s seen with nonprofit organizations throughout the pandemic.

From the Ground Up Podcast image featuring Rachel Dickstein.
Process Performances and the Completion Commission
Podcast

Process Performances and the Completion Commission

15 December 2021

Rachel Dickstein, Artistic Director of Ripe Time, takes us through her experience with Center Theatre Group’s completion commission for their adaptation of SLEEP. She also spotlights some necessary and helpful relationships with tour presenting partners, the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, as well as champion and friend Diane Rodriguez.

When Nice Isn’t Enough: How Arts Fundraising Can Evolve
Essay

When Nice Isn’t Enough: How Arts Fundraising Can Evolve

2 December 2021

Jackson Cooper calls on fundraising professionals to reinterrogate their institutions’ relationships with wealth and value to forge more equitable development practices.

Imagining a New Federal Theatre Project with Corinna Schulenberg and Dr. Elizabeth A. Osborne
Podcast

Imagining a New Federal Theatre Project with Corinna Schulenberg and Dr. Elizabeth A. Osborne

24 November 2021

As a part of the New Deal, the Federal Theatre Project of the 1930s funded theatre in the United States at an unprecedented level, providing paid work for trained theatremakers and low-cost performances to audiences all around the country. Corinna Schulenberg and Dr. Elizabeth A. Osborne discuss the history of the Federal Theatre Project and its potential to act as a model for a New Federal Theatre Project formed in conjunction with racial justice, climate justice, and Land Back movements.

Glenn Davis, left, and Ken-Matt Martin, right.
Our Versions of Better
Essay

Our Versions of Better

Glenn Davis and Ken-Matt Martin in Conversation

22 November 2021

Glenn Davis, co-artistic director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, sits down with Ken-Matt Martin, artistic director of Victory Gardens Theater, to talk about shifting relationships with donors, the concept of term limits for leadership, the joys of returning to rehearsal rooms, and their shared experiences as Black men at the helm of Chicago theatres.

The Future Is Now: Conversations with Ambrose Idemudia Joshua and Rusanda Curcă
Podcast

The Future Is Now: Conversations with Ambrose Idemudia Joshua and Rusanda Curcă

12 November 2021
The Future is Now
The Future Is Now: Conversations with Selma Banich and Fatin Farhat
Podcast

The Future Is Now: Conversations with Selma Banich and Fatin Farhat

10 November 2021

In these episodes of The Future Is Now, CEC Artslink invites two of their Future Fellows, artist and activist Selma Banich and freelance cultural manager Fatin Farhat, to discuss how they envision the future of arts practice.

black text on white background arts philanthropy what is the funder's role?
Arts Philanthropy: What is the Funder’s Role?
Video

Arts Philanthropy: What is the Funder’s Role?

Join a national panel of arts philanthropy practitioners to hear them discuss their varied roles in support of the arts

Monday 1 November 2021
United States

The Playwrights Realm presented the panel Arts Philanthropy: What is the Funder’s Role? livestreaming on the commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Monday 1 November 2021 at 1 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 3 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 4 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 21:00 BST (London, UTC +1).

Three people rehearsing in a theatre.
Cascade of Change: Transitioning in Crisis
Essay

Cascade of Change: Transitioning in Crisis

Regina Victor and Kaiser Ahmed in Conversation

26 October 2021

Regina Victor, artistic director of Slideshow Theatre Company, and Kaiser Ahmed, artistic director of Jackalope Theatre Company, discuss the joys and challenges of stepping into their Chicago-based positions as theatres across the United States recalibrate their programming.

A portrait of the guest Ivyon E. against a galaxy background with the Building Our Own Tables logo to the left.
Funding Accountability
Podcast

Funding Accountability

With Iyvon E. of The Parsnip Ship

1 September 2021

Yura Sapi sits down with Iyvon E., artistic director of The Parsnip Ship, a podcast play company that amplifies bold artists for audiences who crave accessible stories and storytellers.

A grey-colored person looking off to the left with colorful flowers bursting from their head.
The Realm of the Senses: Theatrical World-Building for Social Activation
Essay

The Realm of the Senses: Theatrical World-Building for Social Activation

26 August 2021

In this entry of Devising Our Future, Aly Perry asks, “How might we position and design theatre as an essential space for healing, pleasure, and connection through an intertwining and interdependent realm of the senses?