Programs

Grant criteria will be announced in spring 2010.

2010 will mark the first year of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation’s grantmaking program.  The Foundation will seek to partner with innovative individuals, organizations and communities across the 48 states, Alaska and Hawaii.

We celebrate ... the hoop dancer, the totem carver, the basket weaver, the storyteller and those Native artists that cultivate traditional knowledge. We celebrate the land, our languages, our ceremonies, our fires - these ways of life which uphold our aloha, our traditions, our heritage and our cultures. Our ways of responding to the land, to the great mysteries and to the beauty therein - this is what is at stake.

We embrace innovation ... the performance artist, the videographer, the painter, the poet - trickster, seer, orator - the Native artist and culture bearer have always adapted to change, modified their tongue and responded to the environment with a critical eye.

The Foundation has identified three areas of strategic interest:

• Mobilizing Communities Through the Arts - Mentorships with seasoned artists, culture bearers and cultural teachers for purposes of artistic and cultural transmission to following generations.

• Artistic Innovation:Through the Soul of an Artist - The creation and sharing of new work by Native artists.

• Strengthening the Arts and Cultures Infrastructure - Supporting the systems and networks that help sustain Native arts and cultures. 

Grantmaking may take the form of program or operating grants, fellowships and/or residencies to individuals, nonprofit corporations or unincorporated groups with appropriate fiscal sponsors.

Look for an announcement this spring outlining the guidelines, criteria and application process.

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