Artist-Centered Empowerment

Operates as a platform to increase visibility and access for BIPOC artists by connecting their work to funders, audiences, and community stakeholders.

Creates and supports the production of non-fiction films and immersive media projects led by BIPOC artists, serving as a core creative output of the organization.

Offers capacity-building programs including mentorship and professional development opportunities designed to support the growth and sustainability of BIPOC artists.

Advocates for formalized structures and increased philanthropic investment in the long-term care of artists’ legacies, promoting ethical and sustainable models for artist estate management.

Supports 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.

Is 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.

Runs 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.

Curates 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.

Offers 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.

Produces 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.

Provides 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.

Convened over 300 artists through the Artist Congress initiative in collaboration with the New York Foundation for the Arts to address systemic challenges in the arts sector.

Operates an Artist Council composed of 12 generative artists who provide advice on organizational services, technology, privacy, and accessibility. Council members are compensated for their participation and engaged in shaping organizational practices.

Operated Fieldwork, a weekly peer-to-peer feedback program for artists sharing works-in-progress, and produced Fielday, a 24-hour non-curated performance marathon held 3–4 times annually in New York City from 1986 to 2019. Fieldwork was later transitioned to Core Dance in Houston.

Provided free and subsidized creative retreats through Artward Bound and Far-a-Field programs over 18 years, and operated FAR Space, offering accessible studio and rehearsal space for hundreds of artists and performance companies.

Provides ongoing anti-racism, accessibility, and DEIAJ training for staff and board members. Administered the Field Leadership Fund, a paid fellowship from 2015 to 2017 that supported 12 artists and arts managers facing systemic barriers, and established a national Field Network with over 10 sites implementing Fieldwork programs.

Co-hosted the Uptown/Downtown performance residency with Harlem Arts Alliance and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, providing free space and time for over 30 artists to develop new work.

Develops and maintains digital and physical environments that are welcoming, accessible, and affirming for artists, audiences, and staff, with ongoing attention to accessibility and inclusion.