GIA Podcast

Across the nonprofit arts sector, national regranting programs are ending and institutional infrastructures are shrinking as philanthropy resets how it supports the field. In this moment of contraction and uncertainty, institutions can no longer afford to remain unprepared to work with artists on structural design. The Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists program (DFA) became one attempt to learn how....

AI is often framed as either a miracle tool or a looming threat, but what does it actually mean for disabled artists navigating grants, fellowships, and creative partnerships? In this episode, Meier Galblum Haigh [Hague] and Kenrya Rankin from Disability Culture Lab take over the GIA podcast to unpack the realities of AI, from access tools to authorship, labor, and institutional policy. Listen for...

In philanthropy, when we think about all of the ways we are invested in our communities, we often don’t think about our retirement savings. Yet, around $20 trillion is invested in retirement savings across the United States. However, who gets to participate in our retirement systems, how decisions are made about our retirement money, and how that money is used before we retire are often complex an...

Sunsetting a foundation isn’t just a financial decision; it’s relational and strategic. In this GIA podcast episode, Cate Fox (Center for Cultural Innovation) and Farhad Ebrahimi (Solidaire Network) share candid insights from their (completed and/or currently active) spend down journeys, unpacking how funders can collaborate to avoid funding cliffs, align resources, and strengthen the cultural eco...

We asked a simple, generative question: Which systems have we replaced, and with what alternatives? A clear chorus answers: we’ve lost too much to speed and spectacle, and we’re committed to building slower, more human infrastructures of care. Across voices, we hear a shift from optimization to stewardship, from extraction to relation, from technology to meaning. “We’ve emphasized education and th...

We asked a body-level question: What does “enough” look and feel like—of time, resources, rest? What emerged isn’t a finish line but a practice. Voices move from accumulation to sufficiency (“needs—with a handful of wants”), from schedules to presence (“time, not clocks”), from lone resilience to shared accountability. “Enough” shows up as a calmer nervous system and a commons that redistributes c...

Across these voices, freedom isn’t a destination; it’s a practice. It appears as chosen absence—leaving the phone behind and meeting the world unmediated. It shows up as chosen presence—tending a youth garden with a child, anchored to land and purpose. And it arrives as chosen attention—making space for curiosity even while money, health, and deadlines hum in the background. Two tensions thread th...

Community-oriented arts organizations are the lifeblood of their communities, and support for their work is more vital than ever. Yet, they are often the hardest for large funders to reach. The Wallace Foundation believes that intermediary regranting organizations, often overlooked, can play a pivotal role in bridging this gap to get support where it is needed most.  As part of its Advancing Well-...

What assumptions have we inherited that limit the transformative potential of philanthropy? And how can funders release ourselves from the constraints of these limiting beliefs? In this episode, GIA is joined by Mandy Van Deven (Elemental), Zaineb Mohammed (Kataly Foundation), and Erin Williams (Constellations Culture Change Fund and Initiative) to explore some of the narratives that underpin comm...

In this podcast episode, GIA President & CEO Eddie Torres sat down with Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, former Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, to reflect on her transformative tenure. Recognized as one of the most impactful leaders in NEA history, Dr. Jackson discusses her visionary efforts to embed arts and culture into broader civic and governmental initiatives, from supporting Indian C...

In this last and final episode, we’re bringing this series full circle by confronting what’s at stake as we choose either to sustain the systems that uphold inequity or to dismantle and reimagine them. Together, we’ll reflect on how narratives shape our beliefs, influence civic discourse, and define our paths to collective action. This is the call, the challenge, and the opportunity. Episode trans...

In this episode, we’ll see how radical, collective giving can do what traditional philanthropy has not—restore, empower, and finally give back to the communities long asked and forced to sacrifice. This is Appalachian Futurism, a tribute to the past and a blueprint for a new way forward. Featuring the song “Marching to the Freedom Land” by Will Boyd feat. Kelle Jolly Episode transcription, speaker...

Grantmakers in the Arts is participating in the Racial Equity Coding Project, which was kicked off with a culmination of research led by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) with Callahan Consulting for the Arts (CCA). The project has given funders an opportunity to examine and refine their own coding practices and to consider new data collection measures for the future. In this third episode,...

Grantmakers in the Arts is participating in the Racial Equity Coding Project, which was kicked off with a culmination of research led by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) with Callahan Consulting for the Arts (CCA). The project has given funders an opportunity to examine and refine their own coding practices and to consider new data collection measures for the future. In the second episode o...

In this podcast, the GIA Support for Individual Artist Committee co-chairs Ce Scott-Fitts, artist development director, South Carolina Arts Commission and Celeste Smith, senior program officer, Arts and Culture, The Pittsburgh Foundation will give you a snapshot of what the committee has been working on, and what you can look forward to for this year. You will also receive a sneak peak into the co...

Grantmakers continue to reckon with the difficulty of gathering accurate data around racial equity funding. To address this, Grantmakers in the Arts is participating in the Racial Equity Coding Project. In the first episode of this three-part podcast series, learn about the project from Susan Feder, program officer, Arts and Culture, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Adam Fong, program officer, Perform...

We’re circling back on the American Rescue Plan, and we are talking about progressive creative worker policies. Learn how these inspirational leaders are supporting arts organizations and individual artists. We are joined by Gonzalo Casals, commissioner, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; Deborah Cullinan, CEO, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA); Randy Engstrom, collaborative arts l...

As GIA reflects over the past year, we cannot help but look back at the work and recommendations that so many funders offered when we launched our coronavirus response programming in 2020. The conversation and insight that was shared with the GIA community ignited and energized funders to begin and continue their support for individual artists and arts organizations. But what has happened since th...

In our recently released report, Solidary not Charity: Arts & Culture Grantmaking in the Solidarity Economy(https://www.giarts.org/solidarity-not-charity), we point out the importance of commitment to long-term work with multiyear grants, loans, and equity investments for solidarity economy institutions and networks. But how is this done with a racial equity and justice lens? Learn more from Anna...

The Biden administration signed the American Rescue Plan Act or ARP, which is a $1.9 trillion package in response to the COVID-19 crisis. How can funders and grantees use this opportunity to reimagine arts education? In this podcast we are joined by Jamie Kasper, director, Arts Education Partnership; Alex Nock, principal, Penn Hill Group; Aileen Ma, director, Penn Hill Group; and Nadia Elokdah, Gr...

In this podcast, Developing a Liberatory Consciousness in Funding, we’re glad to have Dr. Barbara J. Love, consultant, author, lecturer, and the founder of the framework, Liberatory Conscious, joining us. She will discuss how to develop a Liberatory Consciousness mindset that can lead us to more drastic change both within our institutions and outside of them. Intro music: "Barge" by Ketsa.

In this podcast, Activating Our Power After the Election, Eddie Torres, president & CEO of Grantmakers in the Arts, and Kristen Cambell, executive director of Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE), discuss the responsibility of funders to support advocacy, lobbing, and overall civic engagement after the election.

In this podcast episode, we are glad to have Deborah Fisher, executive director, A Blade of Grass, and Shaun Leonardo, American artist and performer best known for his work exploring the relationships between masculinity, sports, race, and culture. They will discuss how funders can center racial equity and they will provide a frame for addressing issues of policing, mass incarceration, and crimina...

In this podcast episode, we are glad to have two guests from the John D. and Catherine T. MacAurthur Foundation. Listen to hear form Aisha Edwards, program officer, Criminal Justice Team and Lauren Pabst, senior program officer, Journalism and Media Team. Through this discussion we will dive into the ways MacArthur has prioritized criminal justice and incarceration justice efforts via media and na...

In this podcast episode, we are glad to have the Walidah Imarisha, a writer, educator, poet, and the artist who coined the term “visionary fiction.” We are also glad to have Lisa Yancey, an entrepreneurial strategist, president of Yancey Consulting, and author of the Thrivability Report which discusses sustainability versus thrivability for historically disinvested arts and culture organizations!...