Impact Report: July 2022–June 2025

The projects supported by the Terra Foundation in recent years are defined by the spaces they create for productive dialogue on key questions relevant to American art, its histories, and contemporary culture; the exchange of ideas they foster in a spirit of collaboration and mutual give-and-take; the insights they reveal about historical objects through close looking; and their engagement with artists and their interlocutors in the service of reimagining critical issues facing the field and the world at large.

A profound commitment to collaboration underlies the exhibition and collection reinstallations we have funded. It is heartening to witness our partners lead in the museum field, defining their aims and sharing their findings; advising on protocols and methods for cataloging, displaying, and making available treasured artworks and items of cultural heritage; and embracing processes of reflection and assessment. The future of museums rests within this critical work and in the building of genuine relationships with communities beyond the confines of art-historical institutions. The organizations that the foundation is proud to support—worldwide, of all scales, and with varying missions—are united in the distinctive work they have been doing, whether through innovative research on a well-known artist or by prioritizing contributions and guidance from members of a specific community. Positive change can, and does, emerge from this broad constellation of cultural institutions engaged with American art.

The foundation initiated the Terra Collection-in-Residence program in 2022, reenvisioning how the Terra Foundation Collection is shared by providing extended loans and programmatic support to a range of museums, thereby fostering interdisciplinary research and teaching on American art. The program creates new contexts for the foundation’s collection, expanding access and audiences while fostering conversations and building networks among participating museums. In 2023, the foundation solidified its commitment to ethical and philosophical principles by supporting projects aligned with the American Missionary Association of New York (AMA). This integrated antislavery and anti-caste organization dates back to the 1830s, and in the twentieth century was focused on the intersectionality of American art and global relations, primarily centered in the American South. Foundation associations in resonance with the AMA’s work and mission include the Amistad Research Center, The New School, Hampton University, and the David C. Driskell Center. Additional strategic initiatives covered by this report follow the guidance of the foundation’s Indigenous Advisory Council, invest in Chicago’s arts ecosystem, and facilitate dialogues about American art in global contexts.

Art Design Chicago, in its second iteration, was dedicated to highlighting Chicago’s extraordinary art histories and creative communities. Between 2022 and 2025, the initiative encompassed seventy-nine organizations, fifty-four exhibitions, and nearly three hundred events. These make up the Art Design Chicago capstone, and the foundation remains dedicated to partnering with Chicago artists and organizations to advance our mission in ways indebted to the legacy of this initiative. Likewise, the foundation’s sites in France—our offices in Paris and our convening space in Giverny—are key touchstones for our evolving global work.

In this report, which begins with a map of our partners’ geographies, we highlight examples of projects supported by the Terra Foundation between July 2022 and June 2025, through both our grant application programs and our strategic initiatives. We then focus on the Terra Foundation Art Collection and the ways it is activated through loans and research, and how the collection has grown through strategic acquisitions and co-stewardship. This publication also features a comprehensive list of our grantmaking between 2022 and 2025 and financial information from these years. Last but certainly not least, we are honored to acknowledge the Terra Foundation’s people. We share this representation of our recent work and foreground the impact of our extraordinary grantee partners, with whom we have sought to expand histories of American art, transform practices, and create meaningful connections between cultures and communities.

Sharon Corwin
President & CEO