SEED Program Expands to New Cities
Shiree Teng facilitating a workshop during the 2014 SEED Summit. Video by Dancing Camera
Three years ago, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation launched SEED, a grant program to support groundbreaking projects in ten cities across the United States. Today the Foundation is pleased to announce that it will expand the SEED program to Appalachia, Houston, and Santa Fe in 2016, as well as deepen its support in Detroit and New Orleans. Moving into Appalachia and Santa Fe will allow SEED funding to reach more rural and indigenous communities, while deepening investment in Detroit and New Orleans will further fuel these cities as hotbeds for exceptional cultural practices.
Over the next several months, the Foundation will work with local nominators in each area to identify arts organizations or projects that may have been under the radar to date but are exemplars in pushing the boundaries of their medium, pursuing new operating models, or otherwise contributing to the innovation of their local cultural landscape.
The Foundation’s decision to expand the program follows the success of its pilot support to 36 cultural projects in Atlanta, Boise, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Phoenix, Portland, Providence, and New Orleans. Grantees frequently point to the transformative impact of SEED’s angel investment as well as the ability to gather in Captiva with peers from across the country. Program participants have been able to build their administrative capacity, plan for the future, as well as form a lasting learning community. The program has also yielded artistic collaborations across regions. The next cohort of SEED grantees will be announced in Spring 2016.
To learn more about the SEED:
- Watch this video capturing last year’s SEED Summit in Captiva, FL
- Read this article on the evolution of the SEED grant program
- Watch profiles of projects in Atlanta, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, New Orleans, Providence, and Portland