Joan Mitchell Artist Programs About the Foundation ⓘ Our COVID-19 Response Home About the Foundation History Foundation History In October 1992, Joan Mitchell passed away in Paris. Continuing the generosity she showed to other artists during her lifetime, Mitchell’s will called for the creation of a foundation to “aid and assist” working artists and serve as the chief steward of her legacy. These two distinct yet intertwining components of Mitchell’s life and vision have remained at the core of the Joan Mitchell Foundation’s mission, driving all of our work. We see the Foundation as a gift from one artist to many artists. Since its inception, the Foundation has worked through several distinct phases of focus, each defined by the need to find balance between the Foundation’s dual purposes, setting a trajectory of sustaining our mission-based work into the future. We offer this overview of the Foundation’s evolution as a case study for other foundations and an affirmation of the power of artists and their legacies. Joan Mitchell in her Vétheuil studio, 1983. Photograph by Robert Freson, Joan Mitchell Foundation Archives. © Joan Mitchell Foundation. 1993-2003: Formation & Start Up Phase In accordance with Mitchell’s will, the Joan Mitchell Foundation was incorporated in New York City in 1993 by Mitchell’s attorney and executor of her estate, John Somers. Over the next ten years, Mitchell’s estate was in a protracted settlement process. As with many artist-endowed foundations, the Joan Mitchell Foundation’s operating model uses funds from strategic sales of artworks in the Foundation’s collection to grow an investment portfolio and support mission-driven work. While Mitchell’s estate was being settled, the Foundation began its work with modest resources. Carolyn Somers, the daughter of John Somers, led the Foundation in establishing its charitable purpose and through a subsequent decade of programmatic growth. This period was centered on start up and programmatic goals, as the board and staff considered what meaningful support for artists should be, as an extension of Mitchell’s life and legacy. In these early years, defining new programs also laid the groundwork for the Foundation’s core values: a commitment to equity, being artist-centered, and embodying a spirit of generosity. Milestones from 1993–2003 1993 Formation of the Foundation’s first Board of Directors 1994 Inaugural group of Painters & Sculptors Grant recipients. Eighteen artists are selected for the first Painters & Sculptors Grants, each receiving unrestricted awards of $10,000 to further their artistic practices and careers. With the goal of identifying artists from diverse backgrounds who are making extraordinary work in the fields of painting and sculpture, each year the Foundation invites a national pool of nominators to recommend applicants for this grant. Grantees are selected by an outside jury, with special attention to artists who are deserving of greater recognition on a national level. No Rain installed at the Museum of Modern Art. The Estate of Joan Mitchell gifts four significant Mitchell paintings to The Museum of Modern Art: Grandes Carrières (ca. 1962), No Rain (1976), Wood, Wind, No Tuba (1979), and Untitled (1963). 1996 Tiro al Blanco by Raymond Saa, MFA Grant Recipient Foundation introduces a second grant program, the MFA Grants, to recognize promising artists and support their transition out of graduate education. Artists in the final year of MFA programs are nominated by a national network of professors. Awards are selected through a jury process. 1997 Joan Mitchell by Klaus Kertess, 1997 Curator Klaus Kertess’ monograph on Mitchell is published by Harry N. Abrams, with the support of Mitchell’s Estate. Artist-Teacher and young artist during Saturday Studios. Foundation begins the Art Education Program to serve New York City youth, with Saturday classes taught by working artists at community centers throughout the city. 2001 Foundation steps forward to provide financial support to New York artists who suffered studio losses from the September 11 attacks. Papers and posters in the Joan Mitchell Foundation Archives 2004-2014: A Decade of Expansion & Innovation In 2004, Mitchell’s estate was settled and the Foundation received the bulk of its artwork collection, along with Mitchell’s archives, inclusive of student work, photos, letters, and personal objects. The Foundation expanded its staff accordingly to enable projects related to collections management. With the art collection in its possession, the Foundation began loaning artworks to museum exhibitions and worked with Cheim & Read on numerous exhibitions of Mitchell’s work. Increased revenue from artwork sales ushered in a decade of profound organizational growth, as the Foundation deepened and expanded its support for individual artists and began to fund organizations supporting visual artists nationally. This period was marked by an interest in being creative and innovative in the Foundation’s programs for artists, with a willingness to venture into new areas of support as needs dictated—an approach inspired by artistic practices and what it means to sustain a lifetime of creativity. Milestones from 2004–2014 2005 Ginseng Extract by Renee Stout, 2005 Painters & Sculptors Grant Recipient. Painters & Sculptors Grants increase to 25 grants of $25,000 per artist. Rontherin Ratliff, Emergency Grant Recipient © Reginald Eldridge, Jr. In response to Hurricane Katrina, the Foundation formally establishes Emergency Grants to provide direct financial support to artists re-establishing their practices after a disaster. More than 80 Gulf Coast artists receive grants of up to $6,000. Participants contributing to Mel Chin’s “F.R.E.E. (Fundred Reserve Even Exchange) Bank of America, L.I.C.” at How Much Do I Owe You? exhibition by Organizational Grant Recipient No Longer Empty. Foundation launches Organizational Grants, providing funding to arts organizations nationally that support visual artists in their communities, with an emphasis on ongoing support to organizations in New Orleans. 2007 Clockwise from top left: Mildred Howard, Elemore Morgan, Jr., Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and Freddy Rodriguez In an effort to support studio documentation and legacy planning for older artists, the Foundation launches the Creating a Living Legacy (CALL) initiative with grants and hands-on assistance to four pilot artists. 2007 - 2008 jumpstART artists preparing work for exhibition at CUE Foundation. Art Education Program launches two teen programs: the jumpstART studio intensive program, pairing arts education with professional development training in partnership with CUE Art Foundation (2008-2016), and the Summer Portfolio Intensive, focusing on college art applications and preparation. 2010 Foundation organizes a symposium on Joan Mitchell in New Orleans, concurrent with Mitchell exhibitions at Newcomb Art Gallery at Tulane University, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Contemporary Art Center. Legacy Specialists working with CALL Database in the studio of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, 2012 CALL initiative develops a Legacy Specialist curriculum, offering training on best practices to support artist studio organization, inventory management, and archiving. This group of knowledgeable and qualified artists become available to assist their peers and the field. To complement its grant programs and deepen its relationships with artists, the Foundation purchases 2275 Bayou Road in New Orleans as future site of the Joan Mitchell Center artist residency program. 2012 Foundation concludes MFA Grant program, reflecting a desire for the program to reach artists from a broader range of backgrounds and artistic experiences. Foundation works to seed CALL programs nationally by awarding grants to four artist-centered organizations to adapt the CALL model for artists in their communities: Artist Trust (Seattle, WA), Bronx Council on the Arts (Bronx, NY), DiverseWorks (Houston, TX), and Space One Eleven (Birmingham, AL). Foundation publishes first edition of the CALL Career Documentation Guide, reflecting a commitment to making the CALL program’s legacy planning tools accessible to all artists. 2013 Installation views of Minnesota and papers and photographs from the Joan Mitchell Foundation Archives at the Poetry Foundation. Foundation co-organizes symposium and exhibition Joan Mitchell: At Home in Poetry at Poetry Foundation, Chicago, Illinois. 2014 Executive Director Carolyn Somers departs after more than 20 years with the Foundation. Foundation partners with Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston to release the Estate Planning Workbook for Visual Artists. Artist Tomie Arai and staff Kay Takeda with Joan Mitchell's Rivière, installed at David Zwirner New York 2015-Present: Strengthening Focus, Ensuring Sustainability In its first two decades, the Foundation’s commitment to supporting artists at all career stages inspired a robust range of programs. When Christa Blatchford stepped into the role of director in 2015, board and staff leadership took a step back to consider the scale of the Foundation’s charitable work in relation to its sustainability. The Board and leadership carefully examined the Foundation’s roster of programs, with an eye toward clarity of vision, alignment with the priorities Mitchell set forth for the Foundation, and ensuring the Foundation’s stability in perpetuity. This led to the closing of the Art Education Program and refocusing of grant programs to affirm the Foundation's focus on unrestricted support for individual artists. During this period, the Foundation’s board and leadership also developed a vision for Mitchell’s legacy in the next decade. The Foundation launched the Joan Mitchell Catalogue Raisonné as an independent research project and deepened staff skill-sets in the areas of collections and archives management, database development, conservation, and research. Milestones from 2015–Present 2015 Official opening of Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans. With ten studios and lodging for eight, the Center offers time and space for creative development and risk-taking, as well as opportunities to connect with fellow artists, arts professionals, and the vibrant New Orleans cultural community. Local artists and artists who have previously received grants from the Foundation are eligible to apply for one- to five-month residencies. Detail of Joan Mitchell's Ladybug, 1957 Foundation establishes the Joan Mitchell Catalogue Raisonné, an independent project researching Mitchell’s paintings for the eventual publication of a multi-volume book documenting all of the artist’s painted work. Installation view of Joan Mitchell Retrospective: Her Life and Paintings at Kunsthaus Bregenz. © Markus Tretter Foundation supports Joan Mitchell retrospective at Kunsthaus Bregenz in Austria. The exhibition travels to the Museum Ludwig in Germany. Foundation begins partnering with VoCA (Voices in Contemporary Art) to produce an annual series of in-depth interviews with artists who participated in the CALL program, recognizing the artist's voice as essential to the understanding of their practice and legacy. CALL/VoCA Talks are typically presented publicly, with edited video recordings available online and preserved with full transcripts at the NYU Fales Library. 2015 - 2016 Joiri Minaya, Container, 2015 Foundation pilots Emerging Artist Grants over two years, awarding $12,000 to 10 recipients annually from across the U.S. The program concludes after its second year to focus grantmaking on Painters & Sculptors Grants, as inclusive of emerging and established artists. 2016 Foundation concludes the Arts Education Program and its grants to arts organizations, re-focusing on direct support to individual artists through unrestricted grants, residencies, and professional development. 2017 - 2019 Foundation pilots Early Art Practitioners programs over three years, with residencies and professional development opportunities tailored to artists under the age of 26. 2018 Foundation partners again with Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston to release Estate Planning for Visual Artists: A Workbook for Attorneys & Executors. Installation view of Joan Mitchell: I carry my landscapes around with me at David Zwirner, New York. Foundation shifts gallery representation to David Zwirner. 2019 Joan Mitchell, Bracket, 1989. Oil on canvas, 102 1/2 x 181 7/8 x 2 inches (260.35 x 461.963 x 5.08 cm). © Estate of Joan Mitchell. Foundation supports research for Joan Mitchell retrospective, co-organized by Baltimore Museum of Art and SFMOMA, and accompanying catalogue. 2020 - 2021 Foundation responds to COVID-19 pandemic's devastating impact on artists by reallocating and increasing 2020 Emergency Grants budget, providing over $1 million in relief funding to Foundation-affiliated artists and coalition efforts: Artist Relief, a national COVID-19 response fund for artists in all disciplines, and Creative Response, a New Orleans-based relief effort. To ensure artists can safely utilize space and access residency opportunities at the Joan Mitchell Center during the pandemic, Foundation shifts the program for Fall 2020 and all of 2021 to a hybrid virtual/in-person residency, focusing on private studio space and virtual professional development solely for New Orleans-based artists. By temporarily converting lodging spaces typically used by visiting resident artists to additional studios, the Foundation nearly doubles the number of artists who can have residencies at any given time. 2021 Foundation re-envisions and expands annual Painters & Sculptors Grants into a multi-year fellowship model: the Joan Mitchell Fellowship. The Fellowship annually provides 15 artists based in the U.S. with unrestricted funds of $60,000 each, distributed over the course of five years with integrated professional development and community-building activities. The inaugural group of Joan Mitchell Fellows is announced in October. To dedicate funding and staffing resources necessary for the new Fellowship program, Foundation concludes Emergency Grants for individual artists, while remaining responsive to large-scale emergencies affecting the artist community. 2021 - 2023 Opening of retrospective at SFMOMA, photo by Jean Shin Joan Mitchell, a comprehensive retrospective bringing together an array of Mitchell's paintings, drawings, and prints, premieres at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) on September 4. The exhibition continues at SFMOMA through January 17, 2022, then travels to Baltimore Museum of Art (March 6 – August 14, 2022) and later to Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (October 5, 2022 – February 27, 2023). Conclusion The changes of the past six years have realigned and strengthened the Foundation. During this period, we have focused on right-sizing the operating scale of the Foundation, clarifying vision and goals, taking stock of our impact, and prioritizing key strategic decisions to further the mission and expand Mitchell’s legacy. Our programmatic work is informed by our values in response to these crucial questions: Who becomes an artist? Who is recognized? Who is remembered? Looking to the future, we are excited to continue being a resource and innovator in our field, demonstrating the importance of artists and their work, and the power of Joan Mitchell’s vision of generosity. Celebrating Our Impact $18,393,000+ IN UNRESTRICTED FUNDS DISTRIBUTED TO INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS 1,170+ ARTISTS AWARDED GRANTS 5,000+ YOUNG ARTISTS SUPPORTED OR EDUCATED 269 ARTISTS HOSTED IN RESIDENCIES AT THE JOAN MITCHELL CENTER $8,500,000 IN FUNDS GIVEN TO ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING ARTIST SUPPORT Related Journal Entries October 13, 2021 Announcing the 2021 Joan Mitchell Fellows Launched in February, the Joan Mitchell Fellowship annually awards 15 artists wo... April 13, 2021 Inside Philanthropy on the Joan Mitchell Fellowship: "From an Award to an Investment” For Inside Philanthropy, Mike Scutari interviewed Kay Takeda, Deputy Director, A... March 2, 2021 Announcing 2021 Joan Mitchell Center Artists-in-Residence The artists, all of whom are based in New Orleans, and two of whom work as a col... More on the Journal Joan Mitchell Biography Artwork Exhibitions & Public Collections Archives & Research Books & Media Rights & Reproductions Catalogue Raisonné Artist Programs Joan Mitchell Fellowship Residencies in New Orleans Creating a Living Legacy Professional Development Emergency Grants Supported Artists About the Foundation Joan Mitchell Center Journal Events Staff & Board History Jobs COVID-19 Response Strategic Plan 2020–2024 Contact Joan Mitchell Foundation 137 W. 25th Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10001 (212) 524-0100 info@joanmitchellfoundation.org Office hours: Monday–Friday, 10am–6pm ET Joan Mitchell Center 2275 Bayou Road New Orleans, LA 70119 (504) 940-2500 info@joanmitchellcenter.org Office hours: Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm CT Submit