A recent Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy event suggested getting artists involved in fundraising may be key to achieving a step change in arts giving. It’s not a totally bad idea, says Amelia Crouch.
What is ‘Artist-led philanthropy’? A recent event in Leeds organised by Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy, aimed at arts managers and fundraisers, outlined two models of philanthropic fundraising that place artists at the centre of income generation.
In our era of relentless public funding cuts, where organisations must rapidly diversify their incomes, we’re likely to hear and see more of these emerging approaches. The trouble is, they are less ‘artist-led’ and more ‘artist-instrumentalised’ – and will remain so unless we, as artists, can muscle our way into the debate.
The first model involves encouraging established artists to think about their legacy in philanthropic terms. This is a growing trend in the U.S.A. where over 360 artist foundations have been established in the past two decades.
On a more day-to-day level, relevant to artists at all points in their careers, the second model of artist-led philanthropy asks the artists an organisation is working with to have a direct relationship with sponsors or potential sponsors. This might include schemes like ‘sponsor a dancer’ or artists meeting supporters at special events... Keep reading on a-n
What is ‘Artist-led philanthropy’? A recent event in Leeds organised by Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy, aimed at arts managers and fundraisers, outlined two models of philanthropic fundraising that place artists at the centre of income generation.
In our era of relentless public funding cuts, where organisations must rapidly diversify their incomes, we’re likely to hear and see more of these emerging approaches. The trouble is, they are less ‘artist-led’ and more ‘artist-instrumentalised’ – and will remain so unless we, as artists, can muscle our way into the debate.
The first model involves encouraging established artists to think about their legacy in philanthropic terms. This is a growing trend in the U.S.A. where over 360 artist foundations have been established in the past two decades.
On a more day-to-day level, relevant to artists at all points in their careers, the second model of artist-led philanthropy asks the artists an organisation is working with to have a direct relationship with sponsors or potential sponsors. This might include schemes like ‘sponsor a dancer’ or artists meeting supporters at special events... Keep reading on a-n