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Refugee Resilience
2016 Artist as Activist Fellow Favianna Rodriguez 

Foundation Announces Open Call to Address Mass Incarceration For Second Consecutive Year

Sep 9, 2016
Today we announce the open call for the Artist as Activist Fellowship . We invite creative professionals who use their practice to address the intersecting issues of racial justice and mass incarceration to seek up to $100,000 in support. Deadline to apply is December 7, 2016 . 2015 was a remarkable year for Criminal Justice reform. From extensive media coverage to the passage of a national bill that limits mandatory sentences for nonviolent offenders, advocates who have worked tirelessly to end mass incarceration saw reform at the forefront of national conversation, illuminating the...
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Pelican Bomb 2
Installation view of a work by Fallen Fruit as part of Pelican Bomb's "Foodways" exhibition in October 2014. Photo: Pelican Bomb

Foundation Recognizes Arts Innovators Across U.S. with new SEED Grantees

Aug 8, 2016
Today, we are excited to announce the recipients of its 2016 SEED grants . Today’s announcement marks the program’s expansion to three new cities/regions: Appalachia (Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee), Houston, and Santa Fe, as well as deepened support to organizations in Detroit and New Orleans. Working with local nominators, the Foundation searches for groundbreaking, often artist-led organizations to support in order to position these innovators for long-term success—whether success means growing to a large-scale non-profit or intentionally functioning as a temporary intervention in their local...
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Chasin Mosters From Under The Bed, 2015
Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD), "Chasing Monsters from Under the Bed," 2015. A performance addressing police violence and mental illness. Photo: LAPD

Ten Artists to Receive Two-Year Grants for Projects Addressing the Epidemic of Mass Incarceration in the U.S.

Jun 6, 2016
Today we announced the ten artists and artist collectives selected for the 2016 Artist as Activist Fellowship— the Foundation’s two-year grant program designed to support independent artists and artist collectives who tackle important social challenges through their creative practice. With 2.2 million people currently in U.S. prisons or jails, the growth rates of this industry combined with the disproportionate number of people of color locked up, mass incarceration is one of the most pressing issues of our time. The Rauschenberg Foundation believes that artists are key partners in addressing...
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AAA Update
From left to right: Edgar painting on the ledge and grabbing the window of Carmen's house. Photo: Thais Llorca Lezcano; #dalitwomenfight tour. Photo: Thenmozhi Soundararajan; Interior Rendering of the School on Wheels. Credit: Deanna Van Buren and Julia Grinkrug; 1Hood Media Academy Class of 2015. Photo: Njaimeh Njie; People’s Climate March, Hurricane Sandy Survivors, 2014; Floating lanterns carrying the written memories of project participants in Chile.

Philanthropy in Action: Year one in the field with Artist as Activist Fellows

Mar 3, 2016
Chosen from a pool of over 600 artists, the 2015-16 Artist as Activist Fellows were selected for their commitment to tackling social and political issues through their creative process. Over the past year, these artists pursued new opportunities to advance their work and convened in Captiva for a week of networking and skill-sharing at the SEED Summit . As they prepare to move ahead with year two of their fellowship, they reflect on how the Artist as Activist grant provided them with the resources to continue their work in addressing important global challenges: CHEMI ROSADO-SEIJO | PUERTO...
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Neshat Prints
Shirin Neshat, Ghada and Sayed, 2013. Images courtesy Gladstone Gallery

Foundation Donates Limited Edition Shirin Neshat Prints to Universities Around the World to Encourage Dialogue

Dec 12, 2015
With support from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Shirin Neshat created a series of portraits titled Our House is On Fire , a project that explored Egypt in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. The foundation is donating two limited edition prints from this series to thirty-three colleges and universities around the world. ​“Neshat's project embodies Rauschenberg’s own belief that art could change the dialogue for challenging international issues,” said Christy MacLear, executive director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. “Our goal with this donation is to encourage dialogue about the...
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Detail of poster for CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), 1965

CREATIVE INTERVENTIONS TO MASS INCARCERATION

Sep 9, 2015
In the era of colorblindness…[r]ather than rely on race, we use our criminal justice system to label people of color as “criminals” and then engage in all the practices we supposedly left behind. Today it is perfectly legal to discriminate against criminals in nearly all the ways that it was once legal to discriminate against African Americans. Once you’re labeled a felon, the old forms of discrimination—employment discrimination, housing discrimination, denial of the right to vote, denial of educational opportunity, denial of food stamps and other public benefits, and exclusion from jury...
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Man works on Climate Change Billboard
Fort Myers, Florida, 1980 (detail)

Philanthropy in Action

May 5, 2015
After a highly competitive process, in which nearly 500 organizations applied to the foundation’s call for proposals, nine organizations have been identified to receive support through the Climate Change Solutions Fund . Grant amounts range from $50,000 to $100,000 over two years for projects taking place in four countries: Micronesia, Peru, the United States, and Zambia. From native seed collection and documenting the stories of Arizona farmers to developing a primer for artist-driven climate activism worldwide, the nine grantees represent a diverse collection of strategies for addressing...
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Earth Day Poster 1970
Earth Day, 1970

The 45th Anniversary of Earth Day Inspires a Tribute to Robert Rauschenberg’s Lifelong Commitment to Environmental Activism

Apr 4, 2015
The protection of the planet has been central to the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation’s mission since its founding by the artist in 1990. In 1991, through the sale of an edition and poster designed by Rauschenberg, the foundation raised funds and greater awareness for the Earth Pledge that was announced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) that same year. The foundation continues to uphold that original pledge “to make the earth a secure and hospitable home for present and future generations.” For the next thirty days, in celebration of the forty-fifth...
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