Topic: Arts & Culture

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Arts & Culture

Programming for the People: Diversity in Early Public Television

Philanthropy helped carve out a public space for the expression of race, culture, and critical perspectives.

Arts & Culture

American Choreographers: Funding the Creative Process

Grant makers and grantees cooperated to craft a unique program in dance.

Arts & Culture

Photo Essay: A Mother, a Son, and Modern Art

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller’s passion for modern art influenced her children, especially her son Nelson Rockefeller, and continues to reach the public through the museum she co-founded.

Black and white photo of the MoMa during construction.

Margaret Mead’s Call for Less “Orthodox” Grantmaking

How a famous anthropologist challenged her own funder to take more risks.

1960s

“Highest Standards”: Elite Philanthropy and Literary Black Voices during the Civil Rights Era

Against a backdrop of white, establishment concepts of literary excellence, one foundation struggled to appreciate Black voices.

1950s 1960s

Early Experiments in Public Broadcasting

The American public broadcast system as it exists today came out of years of work by organized philanthropy.

"Action shot of the Dictionary staff. Korean Language Research Society, Seoul, Korea." - caption on the back of the photograph
1940s 1950s

Saving a Language: The Korean Dictionary Comes to Life Against Tough Odds

What might appear to be a simple publication project came to fruition only after a decade of political upheaval, cultural repression, war, and Rockefeller Foundation support.

Black and white photo of the MoMa during construction.
1920s 1930s

Photo Essay: A Mother, a Son, and Modern Art

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller’s passion for modern art influenced her children, especially her son Nelson Rockefeller, and continues to reach the public through the museum she co-founded.

Walk way under a brick bridge at the Met Cloisters.
1920s 1930s

Photo Essay: John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and the Design of The Met Cloisters

How an American philanthropist’s love of medieval art created an immersive Old World experience at The Cloisters museum in New York City.

1920s 1930s

The Met Cloisters: An Unlikely Pair Makes a Home for Medieval Art in New York City

Does philanthropy always require a perfect partnership to create something great? Peering behind the facade of The Met Cloisters museum reveals that the answer is sometimes “no.”

1980s

American Choreographers: Funding the Creative Process

Grant makers and grantees cooperated to craft a unique program in dance.

1920s 1930s

Rebuilding a Cathedral: The Media, American Money, and French Heritage

Stepping in to save French monuments without stepping on French pride.

1970s

The Fairy Godmothers of Women’s Studies

Moving scholarship by and about women from margin to center.