The Renaissance Society Receives $750,000 Grant from the Mellon Foundation to Support General Operations
Chicago, IL — The Renaissance Society is honored to announce it has received a significant $750,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation. The three-year grant will support the Renaissance Society’s general operations, allowing it to further its mission of fostering innovative and experimental art exhibitions and programming bringing forward-thinking and ambitious artistic voices to Chicago.
“The Mellon Foundation’s support provides us with both the flexibility and the resources to deepen our commitment to artists and audiences alike,” said Myriam Ben Salah, Chief Curator and Executive Director of the Renaissance Society. “Over the next three years, and as we prepare for our next capital campaign, we look to build on and advocate further for our nimble model as we consider what growth might mean for a storied institution like ours outside of the paradigm of expansion. Our focus will be threefold: further honing a curatorial methodology focused on adventurous new commissions and an intimate, artist-driven scale of production; reframing our approach to engagement in terms of developing meaningful networks from our position in the South Side of Chicago; and thinking creatively about our infrastructure with the aim of greater sustainability and collaboration. We are immensely grateful to the Mellon Foundation for recognizing the importance of sustaining such a model.”
Founded in 1915, the Renaissance Society is known for presenting pioneering exhibitions that have held particular significance in many artist’s careers. With this support from the Mellon Foundation, the Renaissance Society is poised to expand its impact and continue meaningfully contributing to the contemporary art field.
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.
For more information, please contact:
Polina Kasian
Associate Director of Development
pkasian@renaissancesociety.org
