The internship programme at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice got me started in the art world, showing me I could make a living doing something I have a passion for. A donation to the Guggenheim UK Charitable Trust will help to provide stable funding for the 17 annual UK participants of the International Internship Programme.
Nathan Clements-Gillespie, Director of Frieze Masters
Founded in 1974, California Lawyers for the Arts (CLA) is a nonprofit that provides legal services to artists, art organizations and other members of the creative community. In addition to its core function, CLA also offers services such as Designing Creative Futures, an internship program for formerly incarcerated individuals who wish to pursue a career in the arts. Upon acceptance into the programme, participants are placed within a collaborating organization, such as Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, to undertake a four-month, part-time, paid internship where they can learn from leaders in their respective fields. Open to applicants living in Los Angeles, San Diego and the Bay Area, Designing Creative Futures offers a positive reintroduction into society and a pipeline towards meaningful employment.
Please consider donating to South Brooklyn Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization providing crucial support to immigrants facing deportation. This Brooklyn-based grass roots initiative trains New Yorkers to support immigrants who cannot afford attorneys. Their work includes assisting with asylum applications and work permits, and providing legal education for those at risk of being torn from their families. Your donation helps fund their emergency housing programme, legal defence and community outreach efforts. In these challenging times, your contribution can make a real difference to vulnerable individuals and families fighting to stay together.
Founded in 1964, the Austrian Film Museum in Vienna holds an extensive collection of more than 40,000 films. This treasure trove for cineastes foregoes the dusty props and archival documents that you might ordinarily expect to encounter in a film museum, presenting instead a strong curated programme. The collection also contains works by independent filmmakers, such as Austrian artists VALIE EXPORT and Maria Lassnig. The architecturally striking museum is famed for its Invisible Cinema, in which the physical auditorium seems to almost completely disappear during screenings, enabling a fully immersive viewing experience. With a programme of filmmakers’ talks, lectures and symposia offering the opportunity to dive into the work of your favourite director, actor or film movement, a membership is an absolute must for every film lover in Vienna.
Forma runs a wonderful programme in south London, with a deep commitment to supporting artists, whatever their needs might be. Their activities are centred on research, residencies, commissions, publishing and a programme of touring exhibitions. They also have a gorgeous rooftop garden designed by the artist Gabriel Kuri - it’s one of the area’s best-kept secrets.
I first began attending the Poetry Project’s triweekly reading series when I moved to New York for graduate school. Still finding my footing in the city, and thirsty to encounter new ways of writing, I was relieved to discover such a welcoming and engaging space. Describing itself on its website as ‘committed to developing and collaborating on replicable programme models that challenge persistent social narratives’, the Poetry Project demonstrates this commitment through dynamic and piquant readings, community engagement via workshops and fellowships, and a publishing platform that bolsters the criticism of poetry by poets, which is rarely done today on so great a scale. We’d all be better off if there were more places like it.
Counterpoints Arts is a charity very close to my heart that provides artists from refugee backgrounds with vital creative and financial support. The organization has spearheaded an impressive array of projects, including the influential Refugee Week and Platforma, a biennial which showcases artwork made by Counterpoints-supported artists across the UK. I am consistently in awe of the Counterpoints team - not only for the number of projects they facilitate and the passion that drives them, but also their knowledge of the issues facing refugees. As the world grows ever-more hostile to those who have been forced to leave their homelands, the work of Counterpoints Arts serves as a much-needed salve to toxic nationalist rhetoric.
Brooklyn nonprofit Wendy’s Subway has won the hearts of many local literature lovers. The self-described ‘reading room, writing space and independent publisher’ produces smart, experimental books (including publications by artists who work across image and text, such as Jesse Chun and Na Mira) and hosts a robust programme of writing nights, reading groups and workshops on topics as varied as the poetics of GIFs, the politics of spiritual awakening and the evolution of humour. The tiered membership programme may appeal to those seeking support and inspiration in their personal writing practices, as it offers benefits such as ‘speedback’ (group feedback on recent writing, delivered speed-dating-style), one-on-one editorial consultations and free workshop enrolment.
Founded in 2019 by Jess Chandler, Prototype is dedicated to publishing experimental writing that explores the connection between literature, poetry and the visual arts. Previous projects include collaborations with artists and writers such as Ed Atkins, Jesse Darling, Quinn Latimer, P. Staff and Steven Zultanski. The imprint also understands the need to put in place support structures for emerging writers, recently setting up two initiatives designed to create new publishing opportunities: the Prototype Development Programme, a free six-month course for writers based across the UK, and the Prototype Prize, for published and unpublished writers working at the intersection of visual arts and literature. With platforms for writers such as The White Review having to close due to funding cuts, the importance of publishing houses such as Prototype becomes increasingly vital.
Worms is a publishing platform dedicated to showcasing experimental writing by underrepresented demographics and elevating it, in the words of the website, to ‘the literary topsoil’. The initiative’s online portal, The Wormhole, is a treasure chest for young creatives in search of resources and inspiration, with well-researched reading lists, sharp book reviews, self-reflective prose and eclectic interviews. Worms’ zine aesthetic and unconventional writing style is a refreshing contrast to the often-anodyne tone of bigger publications. The platform works tirelessly to support its community, from hosting a monthly Zoom book club to a podcast series in which acclaimed writers, such as Olivia Laing and Sheena Patel, are encouraged to spill their literary ‘cans of worms’ to help young writers navigate the treacherous waters of the contemporary publishing industry. The latest issue of WORM magazine, featuring frieze contributors McKenzie Wark and CAConrad among others, promises to be an intriguing read.
Founded during the heat of the AIDS crisis in the United States, this New York-based literary organization supports queer and trans writers through annual awards, an online publication and education initiatives. As many American schools ban books by queer and trans authors, Lambda advocates on behalf of students and writers at a moment when reading has once again become radical in many communities.
Of the many arts organizations that should be highlighted for their outstanding work, I would like to mention Hospital Rooms - a UK-based charity dedicated to transforming mental-health units and wards into environments of creativity, dignity and recovery, in collaboration with artists, service users and NHS healthcare workers. Hospital Rooms brings into focus the transformative, healing potential of art by seeking to offer patients moments of hope and respite from their struggles. A very worthy cause to support.
An organization rooted in community-building, ARTNOIR has done incredible work over the past decade to support Black and Brown creators in New York and beyond. In my early days of working in galleries, they were known to organize tours and curator talks for exhibitions by artists of colour. Since then, ARTNOIR has expanded to provide a range of resources and opportunities: the ARTNOIR Jar of Love Fund, for instance, was established in 2020 to offer unrestricted grants and mentorship to artists, designers, curators and cultural producers of colour. This year, in collaboration with Stoneleaf Retreat, they established the Where We Going Fellowship - a three week residency with open studios as part of Upstate Art Weekend in New York. Inspired by Where We At, the Black women artist collective of the 1960s and ‘70s, the fellowship supports womxn of colour.
Bow Arts is a vital charity that has been empowering creativity, nurturing artists and making a lasting difference to the local community in east London since 1994. By donating to the organization, you’re supporting affordable studio spaces for emerging artists in an increasingly expensive city, as well as funding educational programmes that bring the arts to more than 100 local schools, engaging hundreds of young people. Committed to making art accessible to everyone, Bow Arts creates vibrant public art projects and facilitates cultural events that strengthen the local community. A donation would directly impact nascent artists and students, many of whom rely on its support.
I am deeply proud to be on the board of Artadia, the national arts organization that offers direct and unrestricted support to artists each year across seven US cities. Additionally, through its advocacy, grantmaking and programming, Artadia supports the larger community of visual artists, curators and patrons.
