named programs · 3 · from sources
What they call their work
AFELL (Artist’s Foundation & Estate Leaders’ List)
Peer-to-peer membership listserv for legacy workers to share resources and best practices in artist estate stewardship
Archive-in-Residence
Two-year fully-funded program supporting under-resourced artist estates through cataloging, digitization, research, exhibitions, and public programs
Exhibition and Public Programs
Hosts solo and group exhibitions in SoHo and partners with venues like Participant Inc; includes talks and discussions on legacy and art history
activities · 5 groups
What they do
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Artist Legacy Preservation and Documentation 4 activities
- Advocates for institutional support for artists' estatesAdvocates for formalized structures and increased philanthropic investment in the long-term care of artists’ legacies, promoting ethical and sustainable models for artist estate management.
- Builds professional networks for artist legacy planningSupports a network of over 400 members—including estates, foundations, and individual artists—through the Artist’s Foundation & Estate Leaders’ List (AFELL), which it launched and now manages to ensure organizational growth and sustainability. Facilitates knowledge sharing via quarterly Zoom sessions hosted by members.
- Provides fee-for-service archival and consultation support for artist estatesOffers professional archival services including cataloging, storage, digitization, and exhibition planning to external artist estates and foundations such as the Stan VanDerBeek Archive, Rosemary Mayer Estate, and Shirley Gorelick Foundation on a fee-for-service basis.
- Supports artists and descendants in preserving artistic legaciesProvides guidance and resources to artists and their heirs to help preserve and secure the future of artistic work, including through legacy planning and archival infrastructure.
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Artist Residencies and Studio Programs 1 activity
- Hosts Archive-in-Residence program for artists' estatesRuns a two-year residency program that supports under-resourced artist estates through research, archiving, digitization, exhibitions, and public programming, including two four- to six-week exhibitions per resident: a group show with contemporary artists and a solo show. The program includes residents such as Susan Brockman, Cat Gardère, and the upcoming residency for the Sheyla Baykal archive (2025–2027), and operates within shared workspace and active storage facilities.
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Curated Art Exhibitions and Public Displays 1 activity
- Organizes exhibitions and public programs for underrecognized artistsCurates and presents solo and group exhibitions featuring the work and archives of underrecognized historical artists, including Sheyla Baykal (multiple exhibitions highlighting her photographs and queer community), Paul Gardère (solo exhibition and art fair booth at Independent 20th Century), and Susan Brockman. Also organizes public programs such as panel discussions on portraiture, community, and memory, particularly around artists like Shirley Gorelick.
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Artist and Curatorial Publications 1 activity
- Publishes archival and scholarly materials on artists' workProduces publications that document and contextualize artists’ archives, including a 112-page book on Susan Brockman’s archive combining scholarly and personal contributions, and supports the dissemination of archival materials through printed and digital formats.
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Uncategorized 1 activity
- Ensures ethical payment practices in arts operationsIs certified by W.A.G.E. (Working Artists and the Greater Economy) for meeting standards of ethical payment practices in its operations, reflecting a commitment to fair compensation in the arts.
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financials · form 990EZ · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$163K
Contributions & grants$93K57%
Program service revenue$23K14%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$44K
expenses
Total expenses$180K
Program expenses—
Admin / overhead—
Fundraising—
Salaries & benefits$40K
Grants paid out$26K
balance sheet
Total assets$18K
Cash—
Investments—
Liabilities—
Net assets$7K
1 years on record · 2024–2024
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 1
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| SARA VANDERBEEK | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $26K |
board members · 6
- ALLEN FRAME — BOARD MEMBER
- CHELSEA SPENGEMANN — EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
- FAWN KRIEGER — BOARD MEMBER
- MATHWON HOWARD — BOARD MEMBER
- MAX WARSH — BOARD MEMBER
- YONA BACKER — BOARD MEMBER
relationships · 22
Who they work with
- AFELL Partner — Collaborates with AFELL to support artists and their estates.
- AFELL Partner — Manages the AFELL program, which supports professionals in artist legacy planning.
- Allen Frame Partner — Featured photographer whose flea market–inspired work was included in the Susan Brockman exhibition.
- Artist’s Foundation & Estate Leaders’ List (AFELL) Network — Soft Network formally launched AFELL as part of its organization and participates in its network for estate stewards.
- Cultish Partner — Partnered with Cultish to award the Cultish x OFFSCREEN Prize, recognizing artistic proposals exhibited during the 2024 edition.
- Darling Green Partner — Collaborated with Soft Network on the 2023 exhibition featuring Scott Burton’s work.
- Guild & Greyshkul Partner — Soft Network co-founder Chelsea Spengemann previously worked at Guild & Greyshkul, a cooperative gallery involved in managing Stan VanDerBeek's archive.
- Hauser & Wirth Institute Funder — Provided a $20,000 grant to support Soft Network's programs.
- Marcelo Gabriel Yáñez Partner — Co-curated the exhibition "dearly Loved friends: Photographs by Sheyla Baykal, 1965-1990."
- OFFSCREEN Partner — Collaborated with OFFSCREEN on the Cultish x OFFSCREEN Prize, presented through Soft Network.
- Observer Partner — Collaborates with Observer, as indicated by the blog tag and shared content focus.
- PARTICIPANT INC Partner — Hosted the exhibition "Sheyla Baykal: Horizontal Thinking" at PARTICIPANT INC's location in New York, NY.
- Penny Arcade Partner — Co-curated the exhibition "dearly Loved friends" featuring the work of Sheyla Baykal.
- Rachel Comey Partner — Shares space with Soft Network; in exchange, Soft Network provides artwork for her showroom and uses the space for exhibitions and public programs.
- Rosemary Mayer Estate Partner — Stores and provides archival services for the Rosemary Mayer Estate on a fee-for-service basis.
- Shirley Gorelick Foundation Partner — Stores and provides archival services for the Shirley Gorelick Foundation on a fee-for-service basis.
- Stan VanDerBeek Archive Partner — Stores and provides archival services for the Stan VanDerBeek Archive on a fee-for-service basis.
- The New York Times Government — Cited Holland Cotter's description of Sheyla Baykal from The New York Times in the exhibition context.
- The New York Times Government — Cited as a source for describing artist Sheyla Baykal's cultural significance.
- The New York Times Partner — Featured coverage of Sheyla Baykal's exhibition at Soft Network by critic Holland Cotter
- The New York Times Partner — Featured in The New York Times through art criticism by Holland Cotter.
- W.A.G.E. (Working Artists and the Greater Economy) Network — Member of the W.A.G.E. certification program, committed to fair payment practices for artists.
strategies · 5
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Archival Recovery and Inclusive Preservationmethodology: archival_recoveryBy recovering and preserving overlooked artistic legacies through archival research and curation, we produce a more inclusive art historical record because it makes underrepresented works visible and accessible to the public, curators, and scholars.
- Community-Centered Legacy Stewardshipmethodology: community_supported_legacy_preservationBy stewarding artists' estates through cooperative networks and community-supported models, we sustain artist legacies and redress exclusions in art history because collective care and shared resources enable long-term, equitable preservation beyond market forces.
- Equitable and Ethical Artist Compensationmethodology: ethical-compensationBy adhering to W.A.G.E. certification standards, we advance equitable artist compensation because institutional accountability ensures that artists are fairly remunerated, reinforcing the value of artistic labor beyond market-driven models.
- Legacy as Intergenerational Creative Catalystmethodology: intergenerational_artistic_inspirationBy maintaining and sharing artists' archives and estates, we generate inspiration and creative dialogue for living artists because access to historical creative processes fuels new artistic development across generations.
- Relational and Communal Identity Constructionmethodology: relational_aestheticsBy presenting artists through their interpersonal relationships and communities—using archival materials and collaborative representations—we construct more holistic understandings of identity and artistic influence because relational context reveals dimensions of meaning that individual authorship alone cannot.