Two rather different Fort Worth arts organizations have been awarded more than $32,000 in grants. The money is intended for individual artists’ pockets — with the North Texas Community Foundation aiming for a more ‘grassroots’ approach to arts funding.
The two groups receiving the money are Art Tooth, the scrappy, project-oriented, artist-support collaboration, and Arts Fort Worth, formerly the Arts Council of Fort Worth — the city’s long-established, arts-funding non-profit.
Fabiola Valenzuela, one of the Fort Worth artists who’ve been helped by Art Tooth. Image: from the Art Tooth video.
Art Tooth will award three grants for artists to create new works and exhibit them with Fort Worth businesses. Partnering with artists, helping them connect with galleries, finding new ways to market their work: Art Tooth provides multiple services. Meanwhile, Arts Fort Worth, which has created striking public art projects (like “Collective Transitions,” above, at the Meacham International Airport), will set up a work residency. It’ll give one artist 24-hour access to a studio space and a monthly stipend.
Rose Bradshaw is CEO of the North Texas Community Foundation, which administers the grant money. She said the two groups’ approaches are different but the target’s the same: directly encouraging local artists and new works.
“While small, Art Tooth has a mighty impact – through pop-ups and in some ways some guerilla movement work, which is really exciting. And then Arts Fort Worth — they have those mainline relationships, but they really also wanted to get better connected to local artists.”
The money comes from the Donny Wiley Memorial Fund, which was established in 2017 and has awarded nearly $80,000 to Fort Worth non-profits. Bradshaw says Wiley was herself a Fort Worth artist who knew how hard it can be to get recognition and support.
The press release:
North Texas Community Foundation Announces Grants in Local Arts Initiatives
Over $32,000 granted to two Fort Worth-based organizations
FORT WORTH, TX (January 4, 2022) – North Texas Community Foundation announces awards totaling more than $32,000 to two Fort Worth nonprofit organizations through the Donny Wiley Memorial Fund.
The 2021 grant recipients include:
Art Tooth: to support the Visual Artist Grant Program that will award three local artists funding to create new artwork for exhibition in Fort Worth businesses.
Arts Fort Worth: to support the new Artist Residency Program which will provide an emerging, local visual artist with 24/7 studio access and a monthly stipend to produce artwork over twelve months and then host a solo exhibition.
Established in 2017, the Donny Wiley Memorial Fund celebrates and honors the life and legacy of Ms. Donny Wiley. Ms. Wiley was a graduate of Paschal High School and attended Texas Christian University. During her lifetime, she was passionate about the arts and creative expression. When Ms. Wiley passed away her sister, Ethel Dodge, translated that interest into a legacy gift that she hoped would benefit the arts community in Ms. Wiley’s hometown.
“Arts and culture organizations are critical to the economic success of our region and contribute immeasurably to our sense of community and well-being,” says Rose Bradshaw, president and CEO of North Texas Community Foundation. “We are proud to support organizations that enrich our community and carry on Donny Wiley’s legacy.”
Since the Donny Wiley Memorial Fund was established in 2017, it has awarded more than $78,500 to nonprofit organizations in Fort Worth that encourage artistic expression in adults, support emerging artists or increase appreciation and enjoyment of the arts.
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