Via Art Fund

Founded in 2013, the nonprofit organization has garnered global recognition for its bold yet rigorous grantmaking, as well as its unique philanthropic model centered upon a highly participatory donor engagement program. Via Art Fund supports artists, curators, cultural institutions, and biennials primarily in the united states yet increasingly worldwide, underwriting innovative artistic endeavors with far-reaching public impact realized in various forms including exhibitions, public installations, curatorial research, publications, symposia and more. Dedicated to promoting diverse voices and reaching broad audiences, Via Art Fund champions artist projects that address today's pressing social, cultural, and artistic questions and that challenge notions of traditional exhibition circumstances. As a fast-growing grantmaker with expanding programs, Via Art Fund offers a powerful platform for galvanizing arts philanthropy. Via Art Fund grants exemplify Via's grantmaking core values of artistic production, thought leadership and public engagement and are awarded in three grant programs: Via's flagship artistic production Fund, the via|wagner incubator grant Fund, and the Via curatorial fellowship. Via artistic production Fund grants are awarded to Fund the production, exhibition, (semi) permanent installation and/or institutional acquisition of new artistic commissions in the public realm. Via supports projects that challenge traditional exhibition environments; penetrate social, cultural, and economic barriers; and enlighten, inspire, and educate the public. When possible, Via artistic production grants are made with the intention to gift a work of Art to a public cultural institution once production and exhibition are complete, ensuring that via-funded artworks live on to encounter new audiences under the stewardship of public institutions. Via|wagner incubator Fund grants support small nonprofit organizations located throughout the united states whose activities are rooted in programs, publications and/or platforms and initiatives that work vigorously within their respective communities; embrace innovation, experimentation, progress and risk; champion new and diverse artistic voices; and cultivate new avenues of thought leadership within the field. In 2018, Via Art Fund, in partnership with wagner foundation, announced a five-year, $1 million via|wagner incubator grant Fund to award general operating support of $40,000, payable over two years, to five organizations each year. The Via curatorial fellowship, an annual award in support of today's visionary curatorial voices, provides discretionary funds to a curator to enable aspirational research and reflection, supports travel and/or convenings or enables other scholarly endeavors that will enhance the curator's individual curatorial practice.the Via education program is an integral part of the programming of Via Art Fund. Via patrons meet semi-annually to review grant proposals accompanied by in-person or video presentations by artists, curators, and institutional professionals, and participate in the contemporary Art landscape through an annual calendar of travel, studio visits, exhibition tours and other opportunities for interaction with the artists, curators and institutions supported by Via. Through this high level of direct engagement, Via supporters enjoy a deeper understanding of the creative process.