The Kenneth Rainin Foundation’s Arts Program aims to help diverse Bay Area artists thrive. To better achieve our goals, we are adapting our strategies to reflect the realities of today’s arts economy and our focus on advancing equity in the arts.
It is extremely important for us to understand how to best serve artists, especially at a moment of dramatic change. Over the past year, we have been examining how to advance equitable grantmaking practices, while centering our work on supporting artists. We are also investigating how to make sure our grantmaking reaches the communities we hope to serve. We are well into this period of exploration and are engaging with community members, artists and field colleagues.
Changes to the NEW Program
The Rainin Foundation remains committed to supporting diverse, visionary artists. The New and Experimental Works (NEW) Program has been a key part of this strategy. As we explore how to deepen our support of artists, we have paused our NEW Program grantmaking. In the second half of 2023, we will announce new funding opportunities to support artists working in dance, theater and multidisciplinary arts.
About the NEW Program
The Kenneth Rainin Foundation’s NEW Program grants provide unrestricted and artist fee support to dance, theater and multidisciplinary arts organizations.
Since 2015, this program has awarded $4,337,790 to 149 small and mid-size Bay Area arts organizations. These grants enable artists to produce visionary projects relevant to the communities they serve, advance their artistic practice and push the boundaries of dance and theater.
Continuing Our Support For Artists
We remain committed to our support for artists and the arts community. We will continue to provide updates about what we are learning and how our strategies are adapting to meet today’s realities. As always, we welcome your input and ideas as we work to strengthen our support and help Bay Area artists thrive. You can email your thoughts to the Arts Team here.
