The Terra Foundation awarded 35 grants in March, amounting to a total of over $2.3 million, to support projects that encourage collaborative practices between Chicago-based arts and cultural organizations, exhibitions on American art worldwide, and new strategic initiatives focused on expanding narratives of American art.
The grants listed support projects through our Exhibitions, Art Design Chicago Community-Engagement Research & Development, and former Chicago K–12 responsive grant programs, as well as the Terra Collection in Residence, a new initiative being developed in partnership with participating organizations.
Art Design Chicago Community-Engagement R&D grants—launched in 2022—are intended to help ADC partners develop community-centered engagement strategies for their ADC exhibitions, most of which will open in Chicago in 2024. Applicants drafted their grant proposals in conversation with one another through the ADC Engagement Learning Community, a platform for the cooperative generation of ideas, knowledge exchange, and collective problem-solving around equitable and inclusive community-engagement strategies. Participating Chicago museums and cultural centers will continue to refine and test these models of engagement in 2023 and 2024, working toward the goals of catalyzing mutually beneficial partnerships with communities and spurring organizational growth and change.